A very beautiful story! Sad and hopeful

Almond is a very beautiful coming of age novel with a unique concept. I loved loved the story and I loved Yunjae's character. Though, it did have some background stories that have been done many times and the ending too was you know the too happy ending type (cookie-cutter ending type, where everything got okay!). These were the only reason I gave this book 4 starts instead 5 but still I highly highly recommend this book.

A coming of age tale of 2 boys , one a raging bully and other one dyslexythymic - who could feel no emotions . Both misunderstood and outcast who found an unlikely bond which brought unexpected results . And we learn that trying to comprehend people and life through the eyes of person incapable of feeling fear , love , anger or anything at all - can show us a few things we never saw .

Almond was such an interesting book! What does it mean to be human? Is it simply about feeling a lot of things? The protagonist and his friend force us to ask these questions. One feels nothing, the other feels too much. Who is more human? Or are they both monsters? At its heart, Almond tries to ask some important questions about humanity, friendship and the resilience of the human spirit. It had very short chapters, and is a quick read. But is it an easy one? Not entirely. Some parts include infliction of a lot of physical violence, instances of bullying etc. which made me uncomfortable, but they also forced me to think why. Had I been in Yunjae's place (the protagonist who doesn't feel anything), would I have reacted differently to these same things? I have been trying to read more literature coming out of Asia. It was a very good choice to pick Almond by Sohn Won-pyung. Would especially recommend it to fans of the Korean TV drama It's Okay To Not Be Okay.

Amazingly told!!!

Such a perfect little novel. It teaches you empathy and kindness and how it's so important to be kind to everyone even if they donot fit our perceived societal notions.

Paired this with the book. I read this in less than 24 hours and I rarely do that . The narrator did a very good job . Couldn’t stop listening.

Never thought that a book about a person who can't feel will make me feel all of those emotions!!!