Almond: A Novel

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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. Meet Yunjae, a boy whose almonds (amygdalae) don’t work very well: he doesn’t experience emotions because his almonds don’t send the right signals to his brain. His narrative is easy to read and follow despite his being ‘different’. It sounds like he is making his case without trying to: he’s just describing what’s normal to him and just like that he seems normal to us readers. 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. So you must not have been scared when Gon hit you. But you do know that doesn’t mean you were brave, right? 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. =)

Almond on Apple Books ‎Almond on Apple Books

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. I couldn't see this book to be as impactful if it was taken from a different culture. The commentary on Korean society is what made this book to be compelling for a coming-of-age novel. And it is so ironic how this book was supposed to be about a boy with no emotion, yet was enigmatically emotional. I honestly enjoy this book and it is highly affecting, which is sure to delight readers of every age. I don't know, I'm not a mother so what do I know? All I can tell you is that if someone's gonna take care of my cat, they are gonna hear all about her needs and wants and quirks beforehand. I had discovered that if I kept quiet when I was expected to get angry, it made me look patient. If I kept silent when I was supposed to laugh, it made me look more serious. And if I kept silent when I was expected to cry, it made me look strong.”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) Six were dead, and one was wounded that day. First were Mom and Granny. Then a college student who had rushed in to stop the man. Then two men in their fifties who had stood in the front rank of the Salvation Army parade, followed by a policeman. Finally, the man himself. He had chosen to be the last victim of his manic bloodshed. He stabbed himself in the chest hard and, like most of the other victims, died before the ambulance came. I simply watched the whole thing unfold before me.

Almond by Sohn Won-pyung: Summary and reviews - BookBrowse

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'? I really enjoyed this one and it definitely made me think a lot about people and their emotions. Yunjae was an interesting MC and I really liked how he tried to understand the people around him. The way certain scenes and characters were described was very intriguing and to see everything through Yunjae’s eyes gave this a unique perspective.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.

Almond: A Novel by Won-pyung Sohn | WHSmith

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. It must be difficult to write a character without feelings, and the author didn't always succeed. Yunjae does feel things all along, otherwise some of his observations would have been different.There are a hundred answers to one question in this world. So it's hard for me to give you a correct answer"

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn — Aniko Press Review: Almond by Won-pyung Sohn — Aniko Press

I'll be honest: Another reason I had to read this is because I saw the word "amygdala" in a review of it.

People said there was no way to understand Gon. I didn’t agree with them. It’s just nobody ever tried to see through him. 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 I loved the juxtaposition between the two main characters. Their dynamic was so fascinating. A boy that feels nothing meets a boy who feels too much.