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A review by barnowllette
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.5
Dealing with the complexity of what we hold back, this book tackles on the unsaid in a way that is resonant. The writing style is simple, but describes the intricacies and subtleties of racial hierarchies and double consciousness in a way that leaves the reader examining their own relationship with, not only their identity but also how they interact with others.
One of the things I look forward to in most novels is character growth and the “act of withholding;” this novel has both in spades. The characters are utterly human, selfish and unconcerned and complex and trying their hardest to be better than what they grew up with but can’t seem to get over themselves. Emotional repression and expectation is a major theme in this novel, culminating in a great message of seeing people for who they truly are and not just who we want them to be.
Lydia, is both a main character but not, almost entirely absent in the first quarter of the book, yet her presence is keenly felt throughout. I love stories like that, with semi-Absent Protagonists (I.e Achilles in Song of Achilles, Thomas Hamilton in Black Sails, or even Michael Berzatto in The Bear).
One of the things I look forward to in most novels is character growth and the “act of withholding;” this novel has both in spades. The characters are utterly human, selfish and unconcerned and complex and trying their hardest to be better than what they grew up with but can’t seem to get over themselves. Emotional repression and expectation is a major theme in this novel, culminating in a great message of seeing people for who they truly are and not just who we want them to be.
Lydia, is both a main character but not, almost entirely absent in the first quarter of the book, yet her presence is keenly felt throughout. I love stories like that, with semi-Absent Protagonists (I.e Achilles in Song of Achilles, Thomas Hamilton in Black Sails, or even Michael Berzatto in The Bear).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Suicide