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Almond

Won-pyung Sohn

ISBN 9780062961389
Language English
Finished at May 2023

How Adel would Summarize It

Emotions are supposed to be felt, not taught, and that's how Yunjae, an emotionless boy due to almond-shaped neurons in his brain, emphasizes emotion in the storyline. The story gets interesting when the emotionless Yunjae meets Gon, who is full of emotions. Their rocky introduction transforms their relationship into a friendship that connects them. As I recall, I was on the edge of my life—either feeling too much or feeling numb—while reading this, and it encouraged me to realize that we aren't truly emotionless or incapable of loving. I just need to be attuned to my emotions, recognizing them—not too much, not too little.

Highlights

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From what I understood, love was an extreme idea. A word that seemed to force something undefinable into the prison of letters. But the word was used so easily, so often. People spoke of love so casually, just to mean the slightest pleasure or thanks

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I do not know how this story will unfold. As I said, neither you nor I nor anyone can ever know whether a story is happy or tragic. It may be impossible to categorize a story so neatly in the first place. Life takes on various flavors as it flows. I've decided to confront it. Confront whatever life throws at me, as I always have. And however much I can feel, nothing more, nothing less.