Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Almond

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

36 reviews

navayiota's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Yet another banger. I wish I had known earlier that there are so many great Korean authors, and I hope others won't make the same mistake as me and wait so long to explore Korean literature. I can easily see this becoming a modern classic, and it will be completely justified. Almond is a flawless exploration of disability in society, and a character study of a boy unable to feel emotions. This book had me gasping, tearing up and giggling.. highly recommend.

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paradicsomleves's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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dprekta's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It’s an easy book to get through. As I read it - I felt myself connect with characters very easily from the get go. Yunjae’s character and personal development in the book is my favourite part of it, Gon’s character is complicated but the author does a decent job at giving you enough background to make sense out of his actions and reactions.

A great book to explore human emotions and how it gets translated into the day-to-day business of life. I loved the questions Yunjae would occasionally ask from the readers. Made me think more deeply about the importance of words and language.

Dips toes in childhood trauma and emotional conditioning of a child which is very insightful.

“Children long to be loved, but at the same time they give the most love.”

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

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

2.5

I liked the idea better than the execution by far. Many people with this condition have already explained how the narrative and the portrayal of Yunjae feel ableist and ignorant at many points, so I won't add anything because they did a much better job and it's not my place. It's true however, that the final chapters' message rubbed me the wrong way, as it seemed to suggest that someone with that condition was not human and only through love they can be considered human. He is described as a heartless monster too. I found that very disrespectful.

Furthermore, although the idea of using such polar opposites (Yunjae-Goni) to make them more complex and have some development, was interesting, Goni was such an unlikeable character, who fell flat and underdeveloped. The social critique was interesting in some points, thou, like calling out how some people who are considered compassionate and empathic, can look at someone else's pain or tragedy and not be moved, since it's not their own.

Many other plot points just were completely unrealistic and jarring in contrast with the overall narrative (which attempted to be realistic). Such is the climax of the novel, the way the teacher introduces Yunjae to the other students, and the lack of depth/research in the descriptions of the condition.

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bookrecsanddnfs's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I came here because it was free on KU and I stayed because I saw that Yoongi read it during In the Soop. I thought the writing itself and the style was really spectacular. This book was short, and the chapters were short, which I liked. I enjoyed the writing and the characters, and I liked reading the book. However, I thought the ending was wrapped up too nicely and illogical.

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