VOL.69/2024.04

 

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

 

2023.05.02

 

 

Among the Korean literature books that I have read lately, Almond (Changbi Publishers) is my favorite book. At first, I was interested in reading this book because it’s one of the books BTS has read, and I am very satisfied that I read it.

 

 

Almond is an excellent book. The main character’s life is so well described that it keeps you interested in reading the whole book. Yunjae is the book’s main character, a young boy born with a condition that prevents him from feeling, expressing, and interpreting emotions. This condition has caused him problems as he is perceived in the wrong way many times. He has faced unfair criticism and accusations for his lack of emotions. His mother will try to help him by teaching him how to react in certain situations, but he will have to go through a period of personal growth to learn how to live in a society that hardly understands people that are “different.”
I consider that there are 3 key moments in the book for the protagonist:

 

1. Yunjae’s mother confirms that her son is “different”

 

When Yunjae’s mother confirms her suspicions that something “is not right” with her son, it is a very difficult moment for her, and she even questions herself if she did something that contributed to her son’s condition. But, being the only one in charge of raising Yunjae, it’s complicated. Therefore, she decides to contact her mother, and now she will become part of their lives.

 

2. The day of the tragedy

 

Unfortunately, something very painful happens to Yunjae’s family, and he will no longer have the support and guidance from his mother and grandmother. Now he will have to learn how to navigate the world and handle his lack of emotions in daily life situations, and he will also have to run the bookstore business at his young age.

 

3. The discovery of love

 

When Yunjae met Dora, he began to experience various sensations without understanding what was happening to him. He even thought that perhaps it was a disease. Reading how Yunjae discovers love is a very nice part of the story.

 

Gon and Dora will be two very important characters for Yunjae to learn about love and friendship. The friendship between Yunjae and Gon has an unusual start because they have such different personalities, but as time goes by, their friendship grows stronger, and despite their differences, they both help each other. Gon’s childhood history shows he is a young man with many emotional wounds, some of which will improve within this friendship.

 

 

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Written by Angie Kstudy (Reader of K-Book Trends)