Almond

Almond is quiet in a way that stays with you.

It follows a protagonist who is diagnosed with Alexithymia which makes it difficult for him to experience and process emotions, yet the story never asks for pity. Instead, it makes you question what empathy actually means. Is it something we feel instinctively, or something we practice through our actions?

What I appreciated was the restraint. The book doesn’t over-explain or dramatise emotional absence. Moments of kindness and violence are presented plainly, almost neutrally, leaving you to sit with them.

It made me think about how much of being human is learned, not felt and how connection doesn’t always require emotional intensity.

Line that stayed

I didn’t understand emotions, but I understood situations.

Is empathy a feeling, or a choice we make?