Won-Pyung Sohn

"The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in ALMOND, the story of an emotionless teenaged boy and a hotheaded troublemaker discovering how love, friendship, and persistence can change their lives forever"--

Almond

Suddenly a small ember was rekindled in my heart. I wanted to read between the lines. I wanted to be someone who truly understood the meaning of an author's words. I wanted to know more people, to be able to engage in deep conversations, and to learn what it was to be human.

Every now and then I thought of the songs Mom used to sing to me. She had a bubbly voice when she spoke but her voice turned deep when she sang. It reminded me of the whale humming from a documentary I once saw, or just a breeze of wind or the sound of sea waves from afar. But her voice that once filled my ears was starting to fade. Soon I might forget her voice entirely.

Everything I had known was beginning to fade away from me.

She said families walk hand in hand. Granny would hold my other hand. I have never been abandoned by anyone. Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides.

People said there was no way to understand Gon. I didn't agree with them. It's just that nobody ever tried to see through him.

"I saw her pictures but I couldn't see the resemblance," Gon scoffed. But then he asked, "Which part?" He looked straight at me with glaring eyes. I superimposed my memory of her face on his.

"The eyes. The outline of your face. The way you smile. Your yes drooping at the corners when you smile, making dimples."

But books were different. They had lots of blanks. Blanks between words and even between lines. I could squeeze myself in there and sit, or walk, or scribble down my thoughts. It didn't matter if I had no idea what the words meant. Turning the pages was half the battle.

Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I'd never met and lives Id never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn't experienced could all be found in those volumes.

Life takes in various flavors as it flows.

kata

As time passed, my thoughts changed. I came to realize that the unconditional love and support I’d received throughout my ordinary teenage years was a rare and precious gift, that they served as an invaluable weapon for a person, one that gave me the strength to look at the world from different angles without fear. I realized that only when I became a parent myself.

Professor Yun took a leave of absence from his college to change his life and live solely for Gon. Gon still didn’t talk to him much. But Professor Yun said he would never give up trying.

I heard later that he smiled throughout his trial, even when he was receiving a very heavy sentence. 

How on earth was his mind—no, the human mind—constructed? I hoped that someday in his life he’d be given a chance to be able to wear a different expression on his face.

Bang! The sound of the starting pistol shakes the air. We push off the ground and break into a run. It is not a race, it’s just running. All we need to do is simply feel our bodies splitting the air.

Just then, something inside my heart exploded. Strange feelings flooded in. No, they didn’t flood in, they flooded out. A dam that had existed somewhere inside my body burst. A sudden surge. Something inside me broke free, forever.

“I feel it,” I whispered. Whether it was grief, happiness, loneliness, pain, fear, or joy, I did not know. I just knew I felt something. A wave of nausea hit me. I wanted to throw up the disgust that was surging into me. 

Yet, I thought it was a wonderful experience. 

Yes, this was who he was. The kind of person who tears up at a drop of blood, who feels pain for others’ pain.

“I told you, you’re not that kind.”

Gon turned his back on me as he put up his elbows to cover his eyes, his body trembling.

“That’s you. That’s all you are,” I said.

If you think about it that way, then it would’ve been better if Gon had never been born. Because, more than anything, he wouldn’t have had to feel so much pain and loss. But everything loses its meaning if you think that way. Only purpose remains. Barren.

Well, I’m embarrassed to say this as an adult. But things happened one after another without stopping. And I had no time to devote attention to and care for each one. I would like another chance to get things right this time,” he said.

My whole body was beating like a drum. Stop it. Stop. You don’t have to try so hard to prove that I’m alive. I wanted to tell my body if only I could. I shook my head a couple times. There were more and more things I couldn’t expect in life.

To me, that’s like being asked, Why do you live? Do you live for any purpose? Let’s be honest, we just live because we’re alive. When things are great we’re happy, and when things aren’t, we cry. Same with running. I’ll be happy when I win, I’ll be sad when I don’t. When I feel I haven’t got it, I’ll blame myself or regret starting this in the first place. But then I’ll still run. Just because! Like living life. That’s all!”

I remember Mom clutching my hand tight when we used to take walks. She never let go of my hand. Sometimes when I tried to wriggle my hand free because she gripped it so hard, she’d shoot me a look, telling me to hold on tight. She said families walk hand in hand. Granny would hold my other hand. I have never been abandoned by anyone. Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides.

I mean, you and me, maybe someday, we might become people we never imagined we’d be.”

“Probably. For better or worse. That’s life.”

They had been my whole universe. But now that they were gone, I began to learn that there were others in this world.

lemon

But books were different. They had lots of blanks. Blanks between words and even between lines. I could squeeze myself in there and sit, or walk, or scribble down my thoughts. 

lily

Most people could feel but didn't act. They said they sympathized, but easily forgot.

even with a narrator who struggled to feel emotions, i felt so much reading this book. it was so easy yet also heavy to read, a balance of peace and brutality. 

gon and yunjae’s friendship is one of a kind and it’s the best gift each of them has ever received. i really fell deeply in love with their contrast—yunjae, the “weak” yet apathetic one vs gon, the “tough” yet the more vulnerable one. i would have loved for this to be much longer so it could delve deeper into the complexity of yunjae’s condition and gon’s situation. dora felt much like a plot device for me and i honestly believe the story could have done without her. i also feel a bit torn with how disney-like the ending felt for me, but nonetheless it was a heartwarming experience to go alongside yunjae on his journey. really loved the translation of this one, too! thank you for your gift, won-pyung sohn 💌

even with a narrator who struggled to feel emotions, i felt so much reading this book. it was so easy yet also heavy to read, a balance of peace and brutality. 

gon and yunjae’s friendship is one of a kind and it’s the best gift each of them has ever received. i really fell deeply in love with their contrast—yunjae, the “weak” yet apathetic one vs gon, the “tough” yet the more vulnerable one. i would have loved for this to be much longer so it could delve deeper into the complexity of yunjae’s condition and gon’s situation. dora felt much like a plot device for me and i honestly believe the story could have done without her. i also feel a bit torn with how disney-like the ending felt for me, but nonetheless it was a heartwarming experience to go alongside yunjae on his journey. really loved the translation of this one, too! thank you for your gift, won-pyung sohn 💌

i didnt realize the fact i finished this book less than 5 days ,i will cherish this book alot .the friendship between gon and yunjae is so wholesome i need more,and i feel like we need more exploration of dora

maher

genuinely loved this so much that i read it in less than a day. so heartwarming idc what people say 

nina 

Somehow kinda relate to Gon, feel so bad for him. :( 

/bawling my eyes/ 

Somehow kinda relate to Gon, feel so bad for him. :( 

Amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure in the brain that plays a crucial role in processing emotions. the protagonist in this novel, Yunjae, is born with an underdeveloped Amygdala, a rare brain condition called Alexithymia, which makes it difficult for him to feel emotions

Bulan

Started slow but really got to me in the end 

Robi

the first thing that comes to mind is a fragment from Mary Oliver’s essay 

Adults can change their circumstances; children cannot. Children are powerless, and in difficult situations, they are the victims of every sorrow, mischance, and rage around them. Children feel all of these things, but without any of the ability that adults have to change them. Whatever can take a child beyond such circumstances, therefore, is an alleviation and a blessing.”

Yunjae’s narration was heartbreaking to read. it reminded me of one of my favorite animes, Mob Psycho 100, and Shigeo’s journey of trying to accept and understand his emotions. i resonated most with Gon’s character, not because i related to his trauma, but because i, too, have wished to numb myself and escape the anger, sadness, grief, and loneliness living inside me.

i’m glad they met each other. despite the violence and the horrors of growing up with an unexplainable longing, they helped each other try to understand their own humanity.

it’s not quite a five-star read for me, maybe because i wished the story had been a bit longer and more complex toward the end. nonetheless, i’d recommend this story to anyone. i also want to mention the author’s note at the end of the book, which deeply moved me:

“Would I be able to give this child unconditional love no matter what it looked like? Even if the child grew to be someone completely different from my expectations? Those questions led to the creation of two characters who prompted me to ask this question: If they were my children, could I love them? That’s how Yunjae and Gon were born.”

i wish more people would ask themselves those questions before having kids. i don’t believe this book tries to suggest that love “fixes” everything, but it does acknowledge how unconditional love and care can transform a life, especially a child’s life.

overall, it’s a story that touched my heart and one i’d like to reread in the future.

the first thing that comes to mind is a fragment from Mary Oliver’s essay Staying Alive:

“Adults can change their circumstances; children cannot. Children are powerless, and in difficult situations, they are the victims of every sorrow, mischance, and rage around them. Children feel all of these things, but without any of the ability that adults have to change them. Whatever can take a child beyond such circumstances, therefore, is an alleviation and a blessing.”

Yunjae’s narration was heartbreaking to read. it reminded me of one of my favorite animes, Mob Psycho 100, and Shigeo’s journey of trying to accept and understand his emotions. i resonated most with Gon’s character, not because i related to his trauma, but because i, too, have wished to numb myself and escape the anger, sadness, grief, and loneliness living inside me.

i’m glad they met each other. despite the violence and the horrors of growing up with an unexplainable longing, they helped each other try to understand their own humanity.

it’s not quite a five-star read for me, maybe because i wished the story had been a bit longer and more complex toward the end. nonetheless, i’d recommend this story to anyone. i also want to mention the author’s note at the end of the book, which deeply moved me:

“Would I be able to give this child unconditional love no matter what it looked like? Even if the child grew to be someone completely different from my expectations? Those questions led to the creation of two characters who prompted me to ask this question: If they were my children, could I love them? That’s how Yunjae and Gon were born.”

i wish more people would ask themselves those questions before having kids. i don’t believe this book tries to suggest that love “fixes” everything, but it does acknowledge how unconditional love and care can transform a life, especially a child’s life.

overall, it’s a story that touched my heart and one i’d like to reread in the future.

I don’t know how to talk to anyone who hasn’t read this book without revealing the ways it has affected me. Monsters are beautiful, important, messy and wonderful. Thank you to the monsters who help me understand my messy, beautiful humanity, and the writers who create them. 

daphne

idk if ive just been reading books with mid korean to english translations thus far but while reading this i kept forgetting it was a translation. for a book whose narrator is unable to feel i felt a lot of things very vividly

𓆏

read it all in one setting….. on grief and love and emotions…. think i will need to give this a reread

vianna

almost thought this would be a heartbreaking one, but so lovely to explore friendship between such polar opposites. don’t find that i usually like translations much but this one was well-done. exploring someone who can’t feel’s perspective a lot more enjoyable than i thought.

Nat Wong

almost thought this would be a heartbreaking one, but so lovely to explore friendship between such polar opposites. don’t find that i usually like translations much but this one was well-done. exploring someone who can’t feel’s perspective a lot more enjoyable than i thought.

3 hour read. the lawn in bali.

ezra 

Small book supposedly written in a fast paced but I found it so suitable for the story, it wraps the story in a good way showing it's characters growth and development. Was fast sometimes in the relationship parts but I think that was not our main focus. The writer managed to hook us at some parts, managed to show us their journey and techniques and mechanisms towards growth. As moving in the story I mostly felt coziness. I always felt a cozy atmosphere sometime warm sometimes windy but either it still felt cozy.

Menna Tarek 

Really interesting take on the human condition imo. The ending was a bit cliche, though the dynamic between Yun-jae and Gon-i was really fun to read. I appreciated the attention to two different ways in which a child can feel or be abandoned, rather bleak overall. 

Emelee Marie De Leon

heart-wrenching, exquisite, and easily one of the best books I've ever read.

Shufei

Beautifully written book capturing the thoughts and “emotions” of someone who can’t feel any. A heartwarming experience of how a tragic event changed him but how he also changed others lives alongside him.

Book did seem a bit slow in some parts but I think it just adds to the process he was going through himself. Despite the ending being almost rushed, I think it definitely wrapped up nicely overall. 

Beautifully written book capturing the thoughts and “emotions” of someone who can’t feel any. A heartwarming experience of how a tragic event changed him but how he also changed others lives alongside him.

Book did seem a bit slow in some parts but I think it just adds to the process he was going through himself. Despite the ending being almost rushed, I think it definitely wrapped up nicely overall. 

namjoon’s recommendation! truly loved each chapter and the journey it brought me through. i read this a year ago but i remember it as a poignant piece & how i wanted to be like the main character (lol) devoid of emotions. but then i wouldn’t be me. i also wished i could read korean so i can read the original version

this reset my brain chemistry - also i don’t think i could ever raise a child right

felicity hu

Honestly, at first I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this book. I didn’t think it would end up being so dramatic, I thought it would just be an emotionless boy struggling to find his place in the world, to feel human. And although that is one subject that did take up a lot of the plot, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of the new characters and watching Yunjae’s relationships slowly develop. 

I did find the plot to progress a bit too slowly for me personally all the way towards part four of the book, and thus didn’t expect I would end up liking the complete piece as much as I did, but the dramatic and emotional ending really got me — I can’t say I didn’t cry and I genuinely loved the ending of this story so much.

Love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster.

Almond is a deeply touching and poignant book about what it means to love, and what love means to one. Despite not understanding what love is, Yunjae shows his ability to love through the way he thinks of his grandma, the way he visits his mom, the way he eats with Dr. Shin, and the way he chooses to understand Gon. Despite having never been shown love, Gon shows how capable he is of love, how willing he is to give them if he is given the chance.

Luck plays a huge part in all the unfairness of the world. 

But it is also luck that brings you to meet the person that will help you understand what love is.

小燕

Love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster.

Almond is a deeply touching and poignant book about what it means to love, and what love means to one. Despite not understanding what love is, Yunjae shows his ability to love through the way he thinks of his grandma, the way he visits his mom, the way he eats with Dr. Shin, and the way he chooses to understand Gon. Despite having never been shown love, Gon shows how capable he is of love, how willing he is to give them if he is given the chance.

Luck plays a huge part in all the unfairness of the world. But it is also luck that brings you to meet the person that will help you understand what love is.

This book made me believe that with love, miracle can happen. It’s such a touching story made us see that each person is dealing with their own set of problems where all it needs is a company to be by their side. Never knew something twisted can be heartwarming too. A good read if looking for a short one. 

teia

Ghofran Mustafa 

“Even though my brain was a mess, what kept my soul whole was the warmth of the hands holding mine on both sides”

I was deeply touched by this.
My emotions overwhelmed me while reading it. 

The book follows the story of a young boy called Yunjae, who suffers from Alexithymia, a mental condition. Because of it, he can't express or identify feelings such as fear, sadness, joy etc. Living with his single mom, she tries to teach him how to react in different situations. However this was interrupted by a tragic incident that occured in his life.

This book's theme revolves around love, friendship and family. 
A beautiful coming-of-age story, that is nice to read in between heavy books.

Gelaine Trinidad

this was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, read this while listening to rm's come back to me on loop

Almond

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