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A review by sarasbooks
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that inhibits him from feeling any emotions. The novel is called Almond because it's the two almond-shaped neurons in his brain that are responsible for this condition. His lives with his mom and granny above their little bookstore and these two women try their best to "teach" him how to become more "human". They remind him when to smile, explain why people get sad and so on. One day, everything in his life changes. The blurb is WAY too long and basically spoils the whole book :') so I wouldn't read it.
This was a looovely read. I love Korean lit so so much. Somehow I feel like there's such a strong emotional intelligence in Korean culture and I am a fan.
I thought it was so interesting to read a book about a character who basically has no emotions when at the same time the author (and translator!!) made a wonderful job of delivering a emotion packed book. It was fascinating reading from the perspective of such an unusual character and see how he describes his reality. Another thing that really gripped me was his interest in books. The way he describes books and stories is something every reader will obviously resonate with.
I also loved the contrast between two characters that are polar opposites. (Yunjae and Gon) The little romance was also very cute and added more life to the plot, although I wish we got to see more of it. My only criticism would be how short it was. It's a pretty fast and easy read, the chapters are very short which is great. But i would love to have gone more in depth in the story, especially the ending was quite fast for me.
However, I still enjoyed this book a lot and it's one I will be recommending ! It's a very cute, emotional and thought-provoking coming of age novel.
(ps. this book reminded me sm of the korean series 'are you human?' ! anyways, v random but yeah there are definitely some similarities)
"Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides"
This was a looovely read. I love Korean lit so so much. Somehow I feel like there's such a strong emotional intelligence in Korean culture and I am a fan.
I thought it was so interesting to read a book about a character who basically has no emotions when at the same time the author (and translator!!) made a wonderful job of delivering a emotion packed book. It was fascinating reading from the perspective of such an unusual character and see how he describes his reality. Another thing that really gripped me was his interest in books. The way he describes books and stories is something every reader will obviously resonate with.
I also loved the contrast between two characters that are polar opposites. (Yunjae and Gon) The little romance was also very cute and added more life to the plot, although I wish we got to see more of it. My only criticism would be how short it was. It's a pretty fast and easy read, the chapters are very short which is great. But i would love to have gone more in depth in the story, especially the ending was quite fast for me.
However, I still enjoyed this book a lot and it's one I will be recommending ! It's a very cute, emotional and thought-provoking coming of age novel.
(ps. this book reminded me sm of the korean series 'are you human?' ! anyways, v random but yeah there are definitely some similarities)
"Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Violence