Almond
A Novel
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4.6 • 212 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A BTS fan favorite! A WALL STREET JOURNAL STORIES THAT CAN TAKE YOU ANYWHERE PICK * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S STAY HOME AND READ PICK * SALON'S BEST AND BOLDEST * BUSTLE'S MOST ANTICIPATED
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.
This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster.
One of the monsters is me.
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 provide him with a safe and content life. 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.
Then on Christmas Eve—Yunjae’s sixteenth birthday—everything changes. A shocking act of random violence shatters his world, leaving him alone and on his own. Struggling to cope with his loss, Yunjae retreats into silent isolation, until troubled teenager Gon arrives at his school, and they develop a surprising bond.
As Yunjae begins to open his life to new people—including a girl at school—something slowly changes inside him. And when Gon suddenly finds his life at risk, Yunjae will have the chance to step outside of every comfort zone he has created to perhaps become the hero he never thought he would be.
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)
Translated from the Korean by Sandy Joosun Lee.
Customer Reviews
A read I’m glad I found
This book is engaging and has a honest voice as the narrator. I read the book in a few days but could have almost read it start to finish if I didn’t have to make myself stop and go to bed.
I don’t think a star rating would do this book justice. But 5 stars it is.
For a book about a boy who cannot feel emotions, the actual story is so heart-achingly raw.
As a neuroscience nerd, an MC with alexithymia was in itself intriguing. The author portrays Yunjae’s perspective so well, which makes the story even more compelling. My big question was how Gon’s character would change the story. Even a few chapters after he was introduced, I just didn’t get it.
I finally understood as their interactions began to change. Gon is a boy drowning in anger, resentment, and sadness - emotions that eat away at his soul. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹? Both are outcasts forced to face the world alone, yet so different in how they experience and perceive that world. How do their stories progress from here?
The story of Yunjae and Gon left me speechless, but some of my favorite moments are actually from the author’s note. That said, I’d like to end this review with some words from Sohn Wohn-Pyung herself:
“𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘸, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴.
𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘩é𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭.”
Great book
Amazing read. It gave a new perspective on life I hadn’t thought of. Also making me realized how complex human emotion is. Authors note was beautiful.