Won-pyung Sohn, Translated by Sandy Joosun Lee

A teenage boy who cannot feel emotions and a hotheaded troublemaker discover how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever in this remarkable debut novel from a rising international literary star.

"Intense and moving . . . a phenomenal book that deserves a wide audience among readers."—Wall Street Journal

This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me. Yunjae was born with a brain condition called alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions. He does not have friends—the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that—but his devoted mother and grandmother provide him with a safe and content life. On Christmas Eve—Yunjae’s sixteenth birthday—everything changes. 

 

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