I’ll be honest: I went in expecting a domestic thriller. A missing girl, a mysterious death? That setup usually means twists and secrets. And yes, there are secrets here. But this isn’t a thriller in the usual sense. It’s slower, deeper, and more emotional. It’s literary, but not in an intimidating way, just beautifully written and full of truth.
If I had to label it, I’d call it a literary family drama with elements of mystery. The story starts with Lydia, the middle child of the Lee family, found dead in a lake. The question isn’t just what happened, but why. And in trying to answer that, Celeste Ng pulls apart every thread of this family’s life.
The Lees live in 1970s Ohio, and that setting matters. It’s a time when a mixed-race family (Chinese-American father, white mother) stands out. The small, subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways they’re treated differently ripple through everything. It shapes how each person sees themselves and each other. You feel the isolation in every page.
What struck me most was how real the family dynamic felt. Everyone’s trying, in their own way, to love and be understood, and they're failing just enough to make it hurt. The parents want the best for their kids, but they’re weighed down by their own regrets. The children are desperate to be seen, but no one really knows how to talk about what they need. The title says it perfectly: Everything I Never Told You.
The writing is evocative and spare, the kind that lets emotions creep in quietly. You can almost smell the 1970s kitchens, hear the hum of a house full of silence. It’s beautiful, and sad, and sometimes painfully true.
If you want a story that captures the ache of family, identity, and everything we leave unsaid, this one’s unforgettable.
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