Wow! I love Celeste Ng’s writing – so beautiful.
While this book is very much written from the perspective of experiencing bigotry as a Chinese American and/or a mixed race couple (ethnic Chinese and white American) in the 1970s there is so much about the family dynamics in the book which would resonate, I think with all families.
The title is the key – Everything I Never Told You is about miscommunication and misunderstanding and the tragic and heart-breaking consequences.
Both the parents, James and Marilyn Lee, are reeling from clashes with their own parents and vow to give their children a different experience, but in so doing they push too far the other way and end up mirroring the parental pressures they were trying to avoid.
Even their relationship with each other is constantly based on untold feelings and misread cues that drives a wedge between them.
The book begins with the disappearance of Lydia, the teenaged daughter of the Lee family and the discovery of her body. Flashbacks fill in the events that led to the tragedy as well as following the aftermath. We get chapters from the perspectives of all the five family members – the parents, Lydia’s older brother, Nate and younger sister, Hannah, each with a rich inner life that they keep to themselves. Even the discovery by Marilyn of the diaries she gave Lydia every Christmas all completely blank illustrate how difficult the family members found it to bare their souls even to themselves.
I can understand as a dyed-in-the-wool introvert how hard it is to be open, but I am trying to be more communicative, because people need to understand each other better and how can they if you don’t let them in? I wanted to shout at the characters to just tell each other how you really feel, while also acknowledging my hypocrisy when I do the same thing.
The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, was excellent as well – really brought the beautiful lyrical language to life while giving each character a distinct and realistic voice. I loved this book.
Sarah Wray Writer 