"This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters are me." - In her first novel, Almond, director, and screenwriter Won-pyung Sohn explores the harrowing narrative of Seon Yunjae, who has been diagnosed with alexithymia. This unusual emotional weakness prevents people from feeling and perceiving important emotions including fear, love, sadness, anger, or disgust. The book is translated from Korean by Joosun Lee.
Introduction
Book Name - Almond
Author - Won-pyung Sohn
Genre - Young Adult Fiction
Language - English
Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!
Almond is a short novel that focuses mainly on empathy and human connection. It is written in clear, simple prose. The narrator of this tale, Seon Yunjae, was born with undeveloped amygdalae, two almond-shaped nuclei that are responsible for processing emotional reactions. He has alexithymia, which prevents him from recognizing or being aware of emotions (be it anger, happiness, or fear).
Yunjae's mother and grandmother
work to "train" him so that he can at least pretend to feel certain
emotions since they are aware that doing otherwise will make him appear
"strange" in society's eyes and make him the focus of others'
cruelty. As he cares for his family in his unique way, Yunjae complies,
unconcerned by his lack of emotional responses. When Yunjae is sixteen, two sad
occurrences forever alter his life. Yunjae isolates himself from his family.
At school, he meets Gon, a very troubled child who has a peculiar backstory. Gon was kidnapped from his parents when he was a young child, rejected by the family who took him, and raised in a series of institutions, and juvenile centers until his identity was uncovered and he was given back to his parents. But his mother is dying, and he and his father don't agree on much. Gon, who has strong feelings about everything, appears determined to punish Yunjae, but Yunjae doesn't seem to be bothered by Gon's increasing bullying.
Following a string of awkward encounters outside of school, they discover that they are settling into one another's presence. Yunjae finds himself yearning to "feel" when a girl named Dora catches his eye. Yunjae starts to ponder new issues about the world and interact with others as a result of his contact with Gon. Even while his ability to absorb emotions is still constrained by genetics, a modest change is happening inside of him. The boy who has feelings that are frozen ends up giving in to inquisitiveness and even delusion.
About the Author
Sohn Won-pyung was born in 1979, in Seoul, South Korea. She studied philosophy and social studies at Sogang University and directed films at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. In 2001, she received the Film Review Award at the sixth Cine21. The Science-Fantasy Writers' Award went to her film script "I believe in the moment" (2006). Several other short films, such as "Oooh You Make Me Sick" (2005) and "A Two-way Monologue"(2007), were also written and directed by her. In 2017, she made her literary debut when Almond, her first full-length book, won the Changbi Prize for Young Adult Fiction and received immediate acclaim from readers. In 1988, she completed Born, a full-length book that went on to win the Jeju 4.3 Peace Literary Award. She participates actively in literary and film scenes.
Self-Analysis
Yunjae's forthright statement that his story is "about a monster meeting another monster" is justified by the stark disparity between Gon's physical and emotional assault and his inability to retaliate in any meaningful way. However, as the two broken guys become closer to what appears to be a friendship, the imbalance quietly changes and becomes more problematic when Dora enters the picture. Director and screenwriter Sohn takes a big risk by using an emotionally limited first-person narrator in her debut book, but it pays off. She captures the hollowed-out feeling of Yunjae's life and his almost indescribable intention to resolve it with the help of a skillful translation. This effect is heightened by the contrast with Gon's inability to control his rage.
Famous Quotes
- There is no such person who
can’t be saved. There are only people who give up on trying to save
others.
- a bookstore is a place densely
populated with tens of thousands of authors, dead or living, residing side
by side. But books are quiet. They remain dead silent until somebody flips
open a page. Only then do they spill out their stories, calmly and
thoroughly, just enough at a time for me to handle.
- You eventually just move on
with your life. I'm sure others would go back to their normal lives too, eating
and sleeping and all, although it may take them longer than me. Humans are
designed to move on and keep on living after all.
- Parents start with grand expectations for their kids. But when things don't go as expected, they just want their kids to be ordinary, thinking it's simple. But son, being ordinary is the hardest thing to achieve,
Bottom Line
Almond is a piercing story about the value of friendship, the force of emotions, and the pressing need for people to act more compassionately and empathetically. The author challenges us to understand alexithymia and implores us to smash social preconceptions with jarring queries and perceptive remarks. The book may fall inside the Young Adult category umbrella, the story transcends this editorial categorization and may appeal to a wide range of consumers.
My rating for the book - is 4.5/5
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Written by Jemima Sultana
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