Almond: A Novel

Product Information

Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends—the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that—but his devoted mother and grandmother aren’t fazed by his condition. Their little home above his mother’s used bookstore is decorated with colorful post-it notes that remind him when to smile, when to say "thank you," and when to laugh. Yunjae grows up content, even happy, with his small family in this quiet, peaceful space. Almendra" me ha recordado a "Flores para Algernon". En este caso un protagonista (Yunjae) al que sus amígdalas cerebrales ("Almendras") no se han desarrollado del todo, impidiéndole experimentar los sentimientos o de leerlos en los demás. Esto dificultará sus relaciones personales en su día a día. Well, and then his grandma died and his mother was out of the picture as well, leaving him to fight through all the troubles on his own. Okay, almost all on his own because Dr. Shim was amazing and I loved that he helped him out! Honestly, bless his soul because he just accepted Yunjae the way he was and tried to help him as best as he could. <3 But Dr. Shim isn’t the only one that helped him to find his way and Gon as well as Dora had an impact on the MCs character development. Most people could feel, but didn’t act. They said they sympathised, but easily forgot. The way I see it, that was not real. I didn’t want to live like that. 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.

Almond by Sohn Won-Pyung | Goodreads

I had so many thoughts when I read this book and a lot of them had to do with the way Yunjae was raised. I know his mother and grandmother only had the best intentions and wanted him to blend in with everyone, but I think to some extent their constant efforts made it even more difficult for him to deal with his condition. Emotions are something you can’t learn because human feelings are very complex and some people will cry because they are happy while others will laugh even though they are sad. You might be able to explain the general reasons behind behaviour like crying but every person is an individual and we all react differently when we’re overwhelmed by our feelings. The fine nuances of emotions... well they are something you can’t learn. So even though I understood where Yunjae’s mother was coming from I still didn’t agree with her methods. It felt like Yunjae was under a lot of pressure to learn “the proper reactions” and I kinda felt sorry for him. I really liked Almond , especially the first half of the book. It loses its strength and flow in the second part of the book, though. Dora, a girl from school, appears out of nowhere and seems to exist solely to make him feel. If the author would have focused more on Yunjae and Gon, it would have been a more subtle and deeper story. Their relationship and conversations could have turned many times more intense… it had potential. But that must be the YA genre influence: the second half of the book feels much lighter and not as touching. It somehow turns into a high school drama. Disclaimer: The following will contain spoilers from the book. I will also incorporate references to songs or books I was reminded of!) Plus I’m a huge fan of BTS and I can easily connect this with a book! Because if you know BTS and watched their show “In the Soop” you’ll know that RM as well as SUGA read “Almond” during the show. ;-) So this is the perfect choice for “read a book recommended by a Korean celebrity”!

BookBrowse Review

Llevo un tiempo debatiéndome entre las 4 y las 5 estrellas, así que lo dejaré [en mi cabeza, porque goodreads...] en 4'5. Me ha encantado casi absolutamente todo. El estilo narrativo es simple y directo, como Yunjae. Y pese a ser un personaje con el que, en un principio, no podría empatizar nunca por mi personalidad, me he sentido muy cerca de él en cada una de las palabras. Vas de la mano con el protagonista mientras te guía por su pequeña (y dura, vista desde fuera) vida, pero no es excesivamente dramático. No busca eso para nada, sino que busca la simpleza de alguien con alexitima, de alguien que es incapaz sentir. Y ha sido precioso.

Almond: A Novel by Won-pyung Sohn | WHSmith

This book is why I love international books. They’re always so different from what is traditionally published here in America and I find that so refreshing. 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.” Like when he notes how easily people were to throw up their hands at the challenge of fixing remote problems, and in turn, cower in fear at the thought of fixing those nearest to them. There is a devastating eloquence in how Yunjae can express the complexities of human behavior and interactions with such simplicity, and through Yunjae’s eyes, the reader is given a different way of looking at the world. I’m pretty sure it was due to this that he was able to see who Gon truly was. The way Yunjae described Gon was simple yet beautiful and I guess this is also how I would describe Won-Pyung Sohn’s writing style: Beautiful simplicity with many layers. The author never beats about the bush or hides information. It’s all there and you get exactly what you read which was a very refreshing approach and even though the conversations between the characters are pretty unexcited, they still have some sort of beauty to them. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the writing style so much but I did. =) I'm still not sure what to think of Dora. To some extent, I feel like she was necessary but at the same time, I think her sudden apperance took away too much from the main plot.Granny hugged me so tight my ribs hurt. She always called me a monster. To her, that wasn’t a bad thing.

Almond: A Novel - Won-pyung Sohn - Google Books Almond: A Novel - Won-pyung Sohn - Google Books

The last part of the book is unbelievable as well. Too cutesy and neat of an ending. It didn't make sense and I didn't buy it. Won-pyung Sohn as said starts the book of with a proverbial bang, but the plot in the novel is in general much too convenient, with not only a very weird request of a totally unknown to the main person professor, but also his son turning up in the class of the main character. In general I found that part 1 (that is rather documentary but very effectively captures the cruelty of children) didn't flow in a naturally way into the later parts of the book. This while the book in my view takes a lot of too often used tropes in the later three sections, that loosely fit in the Band-of-outcasts-with-more-similarities-than-imagined-á-la-Breakfast-Club theme. 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. This was a very compelling read. I finished the book within a day — I was unable to put it down. My copy has since been riddled with highlights and notes scribbled in the margins.

Media Reviews

Siempre empatizo con estas historias donde se nos presenta a una persona que no encaja en la sociedad, que de alguna manera es diferente y eso hace que sea rechazado por esta, casi repudiado. Esos personajes inadaptados, que buscan entender la sociedad que les rodea, pero que nunca son aceptados por ella, siempre consiguen agarrarme y no soltarme hasta el final. Yunjae es un personaje increíble, con un carisma brutal, aún no siendo capaz de sentir. 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. 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.

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn, Sandy Joosun Lee | Waterstones

Creo que el primer acierto es que esté narrada por Yunjae, con ese toque frío y robótico que transmite perfectamente esa falta de sentimientos. Solo narra los distintos momentos de su vida como si fuera un mero espectador. Sin embargo, sentí que eso va cambiado conforme va avanzando la novela y cada vez se muestra una narración mucho más sentida. O al menos eso he percibido yo. Y tanto es así que ha logrado emocionarme en muchísimas ocasiones. As for the ending of the book: I liked it but it almost felt too smooth? I don’t know if I’d have done anything differently but I’ve to admit that I still don’t know how I feel about it. I thought a lot about my final reaction to Yunjae’s story but all I can come up with is that the ending felt too convenient. Still, I really enjoyed “Almond” and I can recommend reading it if you want to go for something different and thought-provoking. I still think about the book and in my book this is always a good thing. ;-) Amygdala" is one of my favourite words. I love how it looks and love how it sounds. For the longest time, when I saw it in books, I pronounced it "Am-ig-DAL-YUH. That doesn't sound very nice and I didn't like the word. But when I heard the proper way, "Uh-MIG-da-lah".... it just set off oodles and scads of feel good hormones La verdad es que el libro se lee muy rápido debido a lo cortitos que son los capítulos y sin darte cuenta ya has leído un buen trecho. 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.The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever. Almond is Won-Pyung Sohn’s debut fiction novel. The English translation was done by Sandy Joosun Lee. This could have been really good but it just didn't make much sense. The characters were not believable. For instance, the adults around him open up and tell him every little thing, as though he's their therapist. Another thing that didn't make sense is that his mother asked a friend to take care of Yunjae in the event she is ever unable to, but never told him anything about Yunjae's condition. Ooooo-kaaaaaaay. She wouldn't have, like, I don't know, said 'Hey, before you agree, I need to tell you that this kid has special needs that you'll need to know about and understand'? Maybe others will like this more than I did. A big turn-off for me is that it reads like a young adult novel and I rarely like young adult writing. Perhaps I could have looked past the other things and enjoyed it more if it wasn't for that. So you must not have been scared when Gon hit you. But you do know that doesn’t mean you were brave, right?