"Neither you nor I nor anyone can ever really know whether a story is happy or tragic."

Almond begins with this note to the reader, and I was anxious to know how it would fulfill this promise. Amazingly, it does. The writing is simple and straightforward, and even though many dramatic events happen, it is all delivered in Yunjae's flat monotone. Even so, I experienced many emotions while reading this story, even though Yunjae himself did not.

Yunjae, you see, has alexithymia from underdeveloped amygdala, and he does not feel emotions in the way most people do. He does not experience fear, for one. Many people call him a freak, but he is able to use his ability to enrich the lives of people around him in unique ways. Such a surprising and heartwarming story.