Almond; How Do People Who Feel Nothing Cry? (Book)

Badem is a novel written and directed by South Korean author and filmmaker Won-pyung Sohn, first published in its original language in 2017. The work explores alexithymia, a condition described in medical literature as "emotional deafness" or "emotional blindness," through a fictional narrative grounded in neurological difference. Classified within the young adult category of Korean literature, this is the author’s debut novel. The Turkish translation was done by Tayfun Kartav and published in 2020.

Plot Summary

The novel centers on Yunjae, a young person whose amygdala—the almond-shaped region of the brain—has failed to develop from birth, rendering him unable to experience fundamental emotions such as fear, anger, or joy. Yunjae lives with his mother and grandmother. To ensure he does not draw attention and appears "normal" in society, his mother subjects him to an education based on memorizing emotional responses. Hoping to stimulate the growth of his amygdala, his mother feeds him almonds at every meal. The turning point in the narrative occurs on Yunjae’s sixteenth birthday, which coincides with Christmas Eve. A socially marginalized aggressor attacks Yunjae’s family in front of his eyes, resulting in the death of his grandmother and his mother falling into a vegetative state with severe injuries. Despite this tragedy, Yunjae, due to his physiological condition, shows no emotional response and is consequently accused of emotional detachment, leading him to begin a solitary life. The story follows Yunjae’s journey of growth through his relationships with Gon and Dora, characters he meets while running a secondhand bookshop.

Themes

• Alexithymia and Emotional Deprivation: The central theme of the novel is alexithymia as embodied by Yunjae. The work draws a parallel between an individual’s inability to feel emotions and society’s lack of empathy (social alexithymia).
• The Concepts of Normal and Abnormal: The novel challenges societal definitions of normality. Yunjae, who feels no emotions but harms no one, is labeled a "freak," while the so-called "normal" individuals around him exhibit violent tendencies—highlighting the contradictions in perceptions of what is normal.
• Growth and Friendship: The relationship between Yunjae and Gon presents a coming-of-age story (Bildungsroman) through the interaction of two opposing characters: one emotionally numb, the other excessively emotional.

Characters

• Yunjae: The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Suffering from alexithymia, he cannot express emotional reactions—he neither laughs nor cries. Despite being judged by society, he remains an unbiased observer.
• Gon (Yun Leesu): The son of a professor, Gon was abandoned as a child, raised without affection, and spent time in reformatories. He is a volatile youth, constructed as Yunjae’s foil: where Yunjae is emotionless, Gon is overwhelmingly emotional.
• Dora: A character who enters Yunjae’s life and loves running. Dora awakens in Yunjae his first recognizably romantic feelings and serves as a catalyst for his emotional development.
• Mother and Grandmother: Figures who seek to protect Yunjae. The grandmother accepts Yunjae as he is and calls him "my beautiful freak," while the mother focuses on social conformity and strives to "normalize" him.

Writing Style

The language of the novel is plain and unadorned, consistent with the narrator Yunjae’s cognitive condition. Written from a first-person singular perspective, the narrator, unable to interpret emotions, presents events through objective, metaphor-free observation. This style, dominated by short sentences, is deliberately chosen to reflect the emptiness within the character’s inner world.

Awards and Achievements

• Badem won the 10th Changbi Adolescent Literature Prize in 2016. ^【1】
• Since its publication, the novel has attracted international attention and has been translated into more than twenty languages as of 2024. ^【2】