Almond

A Novel

By: Won-pyung Sohn

Narrated by: Greg Chun

Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 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. 

Then on Christmas Eve - Yunjae’s 16th 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 begins to bully Yunjae. Against all odds, tormentor and victim learn they have more in common than they realized. Gon is stumped by Yunjae’s impassive calm, while Yunjae thinks if he gets to know the hotheaded Gon, he might learn how to experience true feelings. Drawn by curiosity, the two strike up a surprising friendship. 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 in danger, it is Yunjae who will step outside of every comfort zone he has created to perhaps become a most unlikely hero. 

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. 

©2020 Won-pyung Sohn (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

So many quotes to choose from...

I greatly enjoyed this book. The story is told from the perspective of Yunjae, a boy born with the inability to feel fear or other emotions. This is a coming of age story but not exactly in the usual sense. There is no rebellion here or drama with parental figures. Yunjae is trying to understand himself and his relation to others and to the larger world. Since he does not feel emotion he is quite reflective on the meaning of words. I never appreciated how much emotion translates the individual words we use each day. Similar to how words representing color would be difficult for someone who has never seen to interpret, words that contain an emotional context are difficult for Yunjae to interpret. There is an underlying current in this book about what is normal and the pressure placed on individuals to be normal and to conform. In the course of the story we are introduced to Gon, a boy who was abducted from his family at a young age and is later abandoned and put into the system. It is an interesting juxtaposition between Yunjae, who was raised by a caring mother and grandmother and Gon who was raised in chaos and without love. In the beginning of the novel, Yunjae refers to them both as monsters. Yunjae who cannot feel emotion and Gon who trusts no one develop a relationship. Neither one of them truly understands what it means to be or have a friend. I found it really interesting that Yunjae was able to accept Gon and see value in him mainly due to his ability to view Gon's actions without emotion. This book took me through more lows than highs and I am left with this: “Lastly, and I know it sounds like an excuse, but neither you nor I nor anyone can ever really know whether a story is happy or tragic.”

Love it and was so sad when it ended

I saw that BTS’s RM and Suga were reading this book in an ad and thought why not give it a try. I can honestly say, this book was excellent, even without a call out from BTS. Very easy to read and I couldn’t put it down. I was hooked. I wish I could read it again for the first time, I loved it so much. This book made me feel so many things. I highly recommend you read this!

Hope and growth mindset

This short novel is about friendship and change. It is beautifully written and filled with ebbs and flows of life.

Some books are best read. For me, this book was more meaningful by listening. My mind could do focus on the story and visuals.

It would be a discussion point for college freshmen or as a book club selection. As the story touched my heart, I kept wondering, how might others relate and react?

The book was recommended by RM from BTS; now I understand why.

Adding to the fav list! 💜

I loved this story. I broke down so hard during the empathy experiment. Exquisite and beautifully thought provoking.

Nice book

Started off a little slow for my liking and I didn’t connect the way I wanted to with the narrator so I would’ve preferred reading the book myself

4.8 of 5

In short, this is a Building’s Roman novel.
Actually Korean is much better than English.

Good read

I enjoyed this book. Narrator did a fantastic job. Story was tragic and welcomed, as I have recently survived my own tragedy.

Thought provoking and beautiful

I am always looking for a memorable way to change my scope and world-view. When this book was recommended countless times by the community of readers I interact with, I had to give it a read. Took only a day to get through, and quite the tear-jerker, though I am a little sensitive. Made me ask many questions, and triggered many deep conversations with my friends and partner. Overall something I will revisit, continue thinking about until something else catches my eye in the same way.

Really touching

I had a friend that was similar to the main character, not as extreme but definitely not like the rest of us (teenage girls). She had Very few or suppressed emotions. Turns out she had a benign tumor on her pituitary gland. When she was in college they treated it and it totally changed her. She had what would be described as “normal” emotional reactions thereafter. So to me this story was totally relatable! Well told story, sad on many parts.

Slow start but very wholesome ending

I wasn’t really sure how I was going to feel about this book until about halfway through. The narration was monotonous but I think, for this particular story and character, it worked very well. The ending is beautiful, the whole story is a little sad, but the message from the main character is excellent. I’d definitely recommend.