Reviews with content warning for Death - All That's Left Unsaid

A beautiful written story that explores culture, immigration and generational trauma. A sad but strangely satisfying read, with believable context and characters.

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kinta's review

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challenging emotional mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

looking at the premise of this book you’d think its just an average mystery - but oh my goodness it is so much more than that. it’s a story of belonging, loss, culture, addiction and family.

set in the 90’s in Australia’s heroin capital, Cabramatta, the novel primarily follows Kay and her uncovering of details and events that occurred on the night her younger brother Denny was murdered. straight-a student and quiet, his peers are baffled by his sudden and gruesome death on the night of his formal. this book is perfectly paced and dips into the perspectives of witnesses of the murder.

my favourite excerpt:

There is no way for me to tell her that we’ve lost so much more - more than time with our parents, more than time with each other. There is no way for me to tell her that the loss began well before we were born, that our parents had loss, and our ancestors had loss - loss of home, loss of place, loss of self, loss of life - and we were born with that loss, carried it, burdened by it, part of it.

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jtran's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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miafield's review

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emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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daniela_is_reading's review

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4.0

📚 All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
.
Post Vietnam war, a young Ky Tran and her family immigrate to Australia. They settle in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta. A suburb notorious in the 80's and 90's for its gang related violence and crimes.

Ky is a conscious student, determined to do well and prove she is a 'somebody'. We watch her navigate family life, cultural traditions, societal expectations and friendships, and all the while attempting to conform and fit in with her Australian peers and lifestyle.

Fast forward to 1996 and Ky's 17 year old brother is gruesomely murdered in a local restaurant. There's plenty of witnesses, yet they all claim to have seen nothing. Ky, now in her early 20's, is determined to find answers and justice for her brother. In doing so, she learns not only more of those around her but also, herself. She reflects on past and present mistakes and regrets, and we see what it looks like to love and hate, hurt and forgive, all in a single moment.

A novel of the life of a refugee.
It's thought provoking and confronting but worth it. Definately my kind of book.

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michelles_book_nook's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

⚠️ TW: murder, grief, racism, xenophobia, alcoholism, drug abuse, addiction, misogyny, sexism, fatphobia, gang violence, overdose, domestic violence and brief mentions of child abuse ⚠️ Wow, this was a hugely challenging, dark and emotional read that gave such a vivid portrayal of life as a Vietnamese refugee in Sydney in the 90's. This book follows the Tran family as they journey through their grief left following the brutal murder of their son and brother, Denny, whilst also searching for answers as to what happened on that fateful night. Denny was simply out celebrating his high school graduation with friends at a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, an indifferent police force and the worst heroin epidemic in Australian history, when he never made it home. Moving forward to his funeral his sister, Ky, discovers that the police are stumped by her brother's case and that despite a list of people being present that night everyone claims to have seen nothing and they are all staying silent. She then decides to track down the witnesses herself in a quest to learn what truly happened. And as she peels back the layers of the place that shaped her she confronts the complex traumas weighing on those present that night and learns that their silence began well before her brother's murder and so much has been left unsaid about colonialism, the war in Vietnam and the choices everyone made to survive. This book is such a hard hitting read and even though it is fiction with aspects that are based on real life it just absolutely left me speechless. It is beautifully written, compelling, harrowing and so poignant. Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough!

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forgottenangstycharacter's review

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5.0

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