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A review by drjoannehill
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is one of my sister's top 5 books ever so she lent it to me.
A family comes to terms with the death of the eldest daughter Lydia amid commentary on racial prejudice for American-born Chinese, mixed-race families, sexism and The Problem That Has No Name, in mid-century Ohio.
At first this book was really annoying because the characters dig their own holes on everything, it's a car crash in slow motion, I didn't like these people and I wanted to quit quite a few times. Later, it was a bit uncomfortable as I saw myself in Lydia, regarding the way she was treated by people she wanted to be friends with. The interweaving of the present (May 1977) with the past - from 1957 to 1977 - is done quite well to reveal Lydia's thoughts and actions; she doesn't stay silent. Everything that happens would be better if people just spoke to each other, is the moral.
A family comes to terms with the death of the eldest daughter Lydia amid commentary on racial prejudice for American-born Chinese, mixed-race families, sexism and The Problem That Has No Name, in mid-century Ohio.
At first this book was really annoying because the characters dig their own holes on everything, it's a car crash in slow motion, I didn't like these people and I wanted to quit quite a few times. Later, it was a bit uncomfortable as I saw myself in Lydia, regarding the way she was treated by people she wanted to be friends with. The interweaving of the present (May 1977) with the past - from 1957 to 1977 - is done quite well to reveal Lydia's thoughts and actions; she doesn't stay silent. Everything that happens would be better if people just spoke to each other, is the moral.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide