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This post is auto-generated from RSS feed BOOK RIOT. Source: The Summer I First Felt Feelings

Anybody who knows me knows that I have a lot of feelings, and I am very keen on feeling all of them. They help me move through the world.

It was a strange experience to read Almond because our protagonist Yunjae is not like me. He has a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel any emotions. His amygdalae are different from most of us. They make it difficult for him to feel pain, know danger or joy, speak to people, or make friends. Because he does not feel like the rest of us, he has nothing to guide him through interactions with others. His mother and grandmother work relentlessly to teach him the rules of the social world. She hopes to make life easier for her little boy.

Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee Yunjae does not know anybody who is anything like him. But his mother and grandmother are always by his side. In a truly tragic incident, that shifts too. He is pushed further into isolation. Meanwhile, due to another fateful turn of events, Gon joins his school. Unlike Yunjae, Gon has a lot of feelings, mostly of rage, that he is very expressive with. He starts to bully Yunjae, expecting the satisfaction of getting to his victim. But Yunjae cannot give Gon what he wants. Slowly, the two boys start to spend more time together. Neither of them understands the other, but a familiarity starts to develop anyway.

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