Almond: A Novel

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The second half of the book falls a little short. One of the great aspects throughout are the conversations between Yunjae and Gon, and how they discuss and explore the very different ways they feel and express their emotions. Gon is volatile, angry and larger-than-life in how he enacts his inability to regulate his emotions. It’s clear he’s very drawn to Yunjae and wants to be more like him. I felt the story may have been stronger if Sohn had focused only on developing this aspect. Instead, it veers into other narratives that are introduced too late and feel rushed. Life goes on. The Author’s Note reminded me of a book I read, Birds Art Life Death written by Kyo Maclear. This book encourages readers in learning to appreciate the small and the significant. In a world that values big and fast, the protagonist looks towards the small, steady, and slow. Unabashedly here one week after Yoongi was caught reading this on the In the Soop preview. Sad to say, this book would’ve absolutely slipped under my radar otherwise. This is one of my favorite reads of this year. It was interesting to read the translator's note at the end, where she wrote that after reading the Korean text, she wasn't sure whether it was just her interpretation or there really might have been something more than friendship between the main characters. After she discussed it with the author and other translators, I think she conveyed the slight ambiguity really well in English.

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Yunjae tiene 16 años y aunque se encuentra en ese momento de la adolescencia donde los sentimientos se vuelven más intensos, él no puede sentir nada. Las amígdalas de su cerebro son tan pequeñitas como una almendra y esto lo hace incapaz de sentir. Su cuerpo puede sentir frío o calor, y también dolor físico, pero no es capaz de entender sentimientos como el miedo, la felicidad o la tristeza. Desde pequeño su madre le ha enseñado a fingir estos sentimientos para encajar en la sociedad y que nadie lo rechace por ser diferente. Pese a todo vive en un hogar reconfortante junto a su madre y su abuela, un lugar seguro donde es protegido del mundo exterior. Yunjae is a teen diagnosed with Alexithymia because his amygdalae (woohoo!) are smaller than normal. As a result, he is unable to feel many common emotions like love and fear and anger.I first heard of Almond when BTS members RM, Suga, and J-Hope were seen reading it during their reality series In The Soop. RM and Suga agreed that this book was “well-written” and “an interesting read.” This piqued my curiosity, which led me to search its synopsis and a translated version of the book. So anyway, I decided to read Almond because it was likened to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and because I got a nerdy brain orgasm seeing the word amygdala.

Almond” - Medium 7 Reminders From Won-Pyung Sohn’s “Almond” - Medium

Overall the trope of someone different being a saint to help the rest see the value of normal life, is something I find a bit standard, and then there is the way how the whole book turns into a story of someone “recovering” from a neurological condition due to romantic love. Also if you’re interested about my participation in the Koreadathon you can watch the video on my channel: The Smallest Koreadathon Participation Ever - But My Enthusiasm Makes Up For It ;-)! ALMOND is such a stark and powerful book, written in spare prose and with surprising depth of emotion. I loved the neurodivergent hero and his quest to just try to live his life, despite his disability. I liked the subtleties of his development, and how the people around him helped him relate to himself and those around him in various ways (whether deliberately or inadvertently). I still feel like this could (and should) be read and enjoyed by a young adult audience, but again, it does have some dark content, like the aforementioned crime scene, and a scene involving graphic animal cruelty (a butterfly) that was quite hard to read and made me pretty sad.Yunjae lives with his grandmother and mother in a small apartment, at the front of which is his mother’s secondhand bookstore. Both of his caregivers dedicate their energy to creating a space that encourages and reminds Yunjae how to react in everyday situations. His mother prints out each hanja for happiness, sadness, anger, love, joy, and desire, on letter-sized paper, one big character per sheet, which his grandmother then traces. They place them all over the house for Yunjae to learn from and remember. After some instances at school begin to signal to his peers that Yunjae is not normal, his mother coaches him about various scenarios and the appropriate ways to respond: “ Thanks to Mom’s persistent efforts and my mandatory daily training, I slowly learned to get along at school without too much trouble. By the time I was in fourth grade, I had managed to blend in, making Mom’s dream come true.” Otra cosa que me gusta de este tipo de historias y en este libro se refleja a la perfección, es la violencia que desata el miedo al diferente. El no entender algo suele provocar odio, y en esta historia vemos a varios personajes cuyas diferencias despiertan esta violencia en las personas que les rodean. Nadie trata de ayudar o de comprender a estas personas, solo señalarlas y apartarlas. Brutal la crítica. Dora found beauty in everything. She found nature’s magnificent work and incredible symmetry in a turtle’s carapace, or a stork’s egg, or an autumn reed from a swamp. How wonderful, she would often say. I understood the meaning of the word, but I could never feel the splendor it carried.” Su abuela se encargará de que su "pequeño monstruito" pase desapercibido junto con la ayuda de la madre. Aunque un trágico suceso expondrá a "Yunjae" al mundo, donde se las tendrá que ver con "Goni", un abusón de colegio que cambiará su vida para siempre. Me encanta leer novelas internacionales porque te das cuenta de lo distintas que pueden ser. Y es que si algo me gustó de este libro, es que el protagonista clínicamente no puede reconocer o expresar emociones. Sin embargo, yo pude vivir miles de ellas a lo largo de estas páginas.

Almond on Apple Books ‎Almond on Apple Books

I'll be honest: Another reason I had to read this is because I saw the word "amygdala" in a review of it. Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides. 3. Everyone has different ways in showing love. This reminded me of an episode of Hello Counselor when a daughter mentioned that she barely speaks to her father, as her father’s way of speaking felt like he was shouting or cussing at her. The father said he calls his daughter a “brat”, which the daughter did not appreciate. People sometimes say how cool it’d be to be fearless, but they don’t know what they’re talking about. Fear is an instinctive defense mechanism necessary for survival. Not knowing fear doesn’t mean that you’re brave; it means you’re stupid enough to stay standing on the road when a car is charging towards you.”Quite melodramatic and with a lot of coincidences. However what especially did not sit well with me is how the neurodiverse main character is supposedly “cured” by friendship, romantic love and a Disney like act of self sacrifice. Parents start out with grand expectations for their kids. But when things don't go as expected, they just want their kids to be ordinary, thinking it's simple. But son, being ordinary is the hardest thing to achieve,” Readers of Wonder by R.J. Palaccio and Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig will appreciate this "resonant" story that "gives Yunjae the courage to claim an entirely different story." (Booklist, starred review)