Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Almond

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

88 reviews

star_witch's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I purchased and read the book because I had only heard positive reviews…

I have been misled and deceived.

I could not take this book, the characters and their actions, or the plot seriously. This book reads like a kdrama and having finished this book, I still don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. Take a look at the plot points (spoilers ahead):

A deranged man committed a heinous crime that resulted in the death of Yunjae's grandmother and left his mother in a coma.

Following this event, a baker assumed the role of Yunjae's caretaker, only in the sense that he provides him with financial assistance and horrible advice.

Another man approached Yunjae at the hospital, where the latter was visiting his comatose mother. The man requested that Yunjae assume the role of his long-lost son in front of his dying wife. (despite having discovered his biological son and deeming him ill-fit to meet his mother)

The biological son (Gon) is a gangster with a criminal record who attends the same school as Yunjae.

Gon bullies Yunjae, motivated by Yunjae's deception regarding his identity to his [Gon’s] late mother, whom he had not seen or spoken to for 13 years due to him being missing. This escalates to a physical altercation where Gon inflicts severe injuries upon Yunjae.

Gon decides he wants to befriend Yunjae.

Manic pixie dream girl appears, because apparently every book needs a love interest. She has a quirk for running and offers nothing to the story.

Gon runs away and gets in with the wrong crowd.

Yunjae decides he wants to find Gon, which he successfully does but he has to give something in return.

Yunjae is beat within an inch of his life and ends up in the hospital. When he awakens he is greeted by his mother who has woken up from her coma.

The end.

The plot is ludicrous. It's so absurd I want to laugh.

I should also note that I don't have any personal experience with alexithymia, so I'm not sure if my interpretation is totally accurate, but it seemed like the Yunjae's condition was used for the convenience of the plot.

- - -

Anyway,
I regret to inform you that the presence of quotable lines in a book does not guarantee its quality. While it is okay to read books purely for entertainment purposes, let’s not misrepresent this book's value.

No character exploration on an individual level
No relationship exploration
Unrealistic plot (that could have been interesting if it was handled with care)

If this sounds like a book you might enjoy, go ahead and read it. (please read the trigger warnings, and summary —which in my opinion, downplays the severity of some events)

…Or you can just watch a kdrama.

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casinada's review against another edition

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4.0

A really good read! It was very quick, but really impactful.

A boy witnesses the deaths of both his mother and grandma, but he isn’t able to grieve over them. He still has to continue schooling and taking over his mom’s business, while continually being picked on by his peers for his inability to feel sorrow for the loss of his family members. As his journey unfolds, he meets friends along the way.

I loved the characters too much, especially Gon, to be content with just 250 pages of him💔. There are so many quotes I have, and they still hit reading through them!

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maxgdy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

La historia se vuelve poco realista hacia el final con acontecimientos del “poder de la amistad y el amor”, especialmente con yunjae

siendo curado, (o que nunca estuvo enfermo)

.

Aunque aprecio las intenciones de la autora, creo que el mensaje que acaba dando el libro es que si eres diferente (tienes alguna discapacidad, condición o trastorno mental) la única forma en la que puedes vivir normalmente es si te “curas” o cambias completamente.

Sin embargo, es una historia corta y emotiva muy hermosa que habla también de las condiciones en las que crecen las infancias y adolescencias y cómo estas pueden influenciarlas y transformarlas para bien o para mal.

No soy buena poniendo en palabras mis pensamientos por lo que se podría malentender esta reseña, tal vez la modificaré en el futuro pero quería dejar una huella de mis pensamientos recién acabado el libro.

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jungsies's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mcrespo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

a very catcher in the rye-esque story. its super fast paced, and sohn has a command for tone and characterization. i especially love the use of metaphors with the almonds and the plum candies. i just wanted more almond metaphor in the end to tie it all up.

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veronica214's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The story follows a teenager who was born with almond-sized amygdala (the part of the brain that processes emotions.) He doesn't feel fear, anger, sadness, or happiness. However, a series of life changing events may be changing that.

I liked the story enough, but wasn't a huge fan of the ending. Almost everything magically worked out ok and resulted in a happy ending. That part just didn't feel super realistic. Also, the translation was a little off at times.

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333amreen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such an easy read year covers such complex topics. Only goes on to show how great the writing is! So philosophical and psychological all at once. LOVED HIS CONNECTION WITH GON but the Dora part felt forced and incomplete & that's the ONLY reason I took off the .5

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0hxneybee's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I thought this was book was really interesting. Not a usual go to for me but I’m glad I saw it through to the end.

The scene with the butterfly made me really uncomfortable so I almost stopped reading it there.

The quote at the end of it is very interesting and probably very true.

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sahla's review against another edition

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dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i really enjoyed this book; the characters are so properly fleshed, and everything is captured so beautifully. the ending, when

yunjae meets his mother again, when she realizes that he can feel now, his absolute surprise and astonishment at her being alive, gosh,

it warmed my heart. and when

gon begs him to return when he's lying on the floor, bloody and hurt, and apologises so much,,,

it really moved me to tears.

the writing style reflects each of the characters so well, it's amazing. i can feel how yunjae must feel. the idea of him having the vocabulary for feelings but not actually having the feelings themselves, was conveyed perfectly, and so was the reverse for gon. and god, the relationship between his mother and grandmother is just so mwah.

my only issue (idk if it can actually be called that) was: dude, the homoerotic subtext between gon and yunjae! it was right there. i really liked dora, but there was no straight plotline necessary. but anyways, we move. (i've never felt more validated in my life than when i read the translator's note where she said she thought the same).

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teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was really intrigued by the disability in this one. I had never heard of it and don't know if the representation was accurate, but I am not to judge on that. It does seem the author did their research. This definitely wasn't an easy read, but being short, it was easier to get through. The ending was not as I hoped. The translation was done very well.

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