Scan barcode
A review by hickorynut
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Check TWs before reading.
This was very well translated, bringing an emotionless yet still engaging main character to life. Yunjae's journey through being taught how to be "normal" resonated deeply for me as an autistic reader. His experiences of trauma and tragedy and growing into young adulthood without guardians were narrated in a logical, factual manner with curiosity and an interest to learn and understand more. I ended up reading most of this in one sitting as his simple and straightforward method of communication combined with a complicated and traumatic life, kept me intrigued.
"Love, according to Mom’s actions, was nothing more than nagging about every little thing, with teary eyes, about how one should act such and such in this and that situation. If that was love, I’d rather neither give nor receive any. But of course, I didn’t say that out loud. That was all thanks to one of Mom’s codes of conduct—Too much honesty hurts others—which I had memorized over and over so that it was stuck in my brain."
"Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I’d never met and lives I’d never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn’t experienced could all be found in those volumes."
"But books are quiet. They remain dead silent until somebody flips open a page. Only then do they spill out their stories, calmly and thoroughly, just enough at a time for me to handle."
"“Do you think I could make others understand me, even though I can’t understand myself?”"
Author's note:
"I have come to think that love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster."
This was very well translated, bringing an emotionless yet still engaging main character to life. Yunjae's journey through being taught how to be "normal" resonated deeply for me as an autistic reader. His experiences of trauma and tragedy and growing into young adulthood without guardians were narrated in a logical, factual manner with curiosity and an interest to learn and understand more. I ended up reading most of this in one sitting as his simple and straightforward method of communication combined with a complicated and traumatic life, kept me intrigued.
"Love, according to Mom’s actions, was nothing more than nagging about every little thing, with teary eyes, about how one should act such and such in this and that situation. If that was love, I’d rather neither give nor receive any. But of course, I didn’t say that out loud. That was all thanks to one of Mom’s codes of conduct—Too much honesty hurts others—which I had memorized over and over so that it was stuck in my brain."
"Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I’d never met and lives I’d never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn’t experienced could all be found in those volumes."
"But books are quiet. They remain dead silent until somebody flips open a page. Only then do they spill out their stories, calmly and thoroughly, just enough at a time for me to handle."
"“Do you think I could make others understand me, even though I can’t understand myself?”"
Author's note:
"I have come to think that love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Mental illness