Scan barcode
bycindyxt's review
5.0
Different city, different year, different upbringing, yet this book felt like a cathartic apology letter and thank you note straight from my heart. It encapsulates the essence of having immigrant/refugee parents, growing up in a country where you’ll never fully belong, and the complex emotions that come with simply existing.
serenityofbooks's review
5.0
“An unforgettable debut, utterly compelling from start to finish. Original. Heartbreaking. Gripping. I just loved it.” This is the quote attributed to Liane Moriarty on the cover of All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien. She’s perfectly summed up my thoughts on this book – probably why she’s a bestselling author & I am not!
Set in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta in 1996, 16 year old student Denny Tran is murdered in front of a restaurant full of people yet apparently none of the witnesses saw anything. In a town gripped by violent crime and a heroin epidemic, the police force is not showing much interest in investigating the murder so when Denny’s sister Ky returns for the funeral, she decides to use her journalistic skills and get to the bottom of why her brother was killed.
The main narrator is grief-stricken Ky but through the multiple points of view of the witnesses, we can see how the predominately Vietnamese-Australian community have been shaped by their experiences, both their own and inherited from their parents in Vietnam and Australia. And this for me, is where the story really opens up and the complex layers & themes make it a 5 star read!
The themes of intergenerational trauma, trying to assimilate to a new country and culture and the pressure to be perfect for your parents when they have made life changing sacrifices to give you a “better life” were interesting and thought provoking for me and to be honest, this book opened my eyes to experiences I hadn’t put much thought into before.
This is a must-read book for anyone who enjoys their reading to stay with them long after they finish. Tracey Lien’s debut book is a powerful original story that had me absolutely gripped from the first page until the very end and I’m so glad I read it.
Set in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta in 1996, 16 year old student Denny Tran is murdered in front of a restaurant full of people yet apparently none of the witnesses saw anything. In a town gripped by violent crime and a heroin epidemic, the police force is not showing much interest in investigating the murder so when Denny’s sister Ky returns for the funeral, she decides to use her journalistic skills and get to the bottom of why her brother was killed.
The main narrator is grief-stricken Ky but through the multiple points of view of the witnesses, we can see how the predominately Vietnamese-Australian community have been shaped by their experiences, both their own and inherited from their parents in Vietnam and Australia. And this for me, is where the story really opens up and the complex layers & themes make it a 5 star read!
The themes of intergenerational trauma, trying to assimilate to a new country and culture and the pressure to be perfect for your parents when they have made life changing sacrifices to give you a “better life” were interesting and thought provoking for me and to be honest, this book opened my eyes to experiences I hadn’t put much thought into before.
This is a must-read book for anyone who enjoys their reading to stay with them long after they finish. Tracey Lien’s debut book is a powerful original story that had me absolutely gripped from the first page until the very end and I’m so glad I read it.
johnchan's review
5.0
Soooooo goooood
intensely tragic, does a beautiful job capturing the boy-shaped cutout left in a family.
gifted to tina dam 4/14
intensely tragic, does a beautiful job capturing the boy-shaped cutout left in a family.
gifted to tina dam 4/14
jesspsps's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kacytran's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lilycouper's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sagelee12's review
4.0
this book takes place in Australia in the 90s and while marketed as a mystery, is truly about the Vietnam community in Australia, a large number of whom were refugees from the Vietnam war/aftermath.
This book exposes the systematic racism in Sydney, as well as community ties, the importance of siblings and the ramifications of colonialism.
I’m not sure it should be marketed as a mystery, while there was a solving element it seemed mostly like a community exploration piece of fiction !
This book exposes the systematic racism in Sydney, as well as community ties, the importance of siblings and the ramifications of colonialism.
I’m not sure it should be marketed as a mystery, while there was a solving element it seemed mostly like a community exploration piece of fiction !
krissymartini's review against another edition
3.5
This one is an interesting one for me to rate! I think it's a 3.5 leaning towards a 4, all things considered. The first half was pretty hard for me to get into, personally. I liked the idea behind the different POVs in every chapter, but I thought it could have been more deftly done. It took me longer than I wanted to settle into Ky, who should have been a more central character. I think the turning point for me was her father's chapter; from then on out, I was fully invested and really wanted to finish the journey.
I think the murder itself was a bit of a downer (I mean not the fact that someone got killed, but the truth of it + the way it was revealed). It's definitely set up to be this big reveal, but the truth is about what I was expecting, save for some details. I think the book was trying to straddle the thriller line even though those portions are the weakest part.
But there's a lot of interesting commentary on the immigrant experience in Australia (specifically from the POV of Vietnamese refugees and their children) and I'm very happy to read a book that touches on this important perspective.
I think the murder itself was a bit of a downer (I mean not the fact that someone got killed, but the truth of it + the way it was revealed). It's definitely set up to be this big reveal, but the truth is about what I was expecting, save for some details. I think the book was trying to straddle the thriller line even though those portions are the weakest part.
But there's a lot of interesting commentary on the immigrant experience in Australia (specifically from the POV of Vietnamese refugees and their children) and I'm very happy to read a book that touches on this important perspective.
donnylei's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0