When Everything I Never Told You by Celest Ng was selected as one of my book club reads, I believed it would be a great book for discussion. I was right, only instead of talking about the trials and prejudices faced by Chinese American families in the United States, we talked more about dysfunctional parenting. Nonetheless, still a great book club choice, which made for a hearty discussion.
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Lydia is dead. Well, the author of this debut novel got my attention right there, with the first sentence. The oldest daughter of the Lee family is dead, and now the police must unravel the mystery. In doing so, the reader meets the father (a college professor), the mother (a stay-at-home mom), and the children – all of whom have their fare share of insecurities, regrets and fears. Ng’s writing is sensitive and lovely, as she acquaints us with the members of this like-able yet sometimes disturbing family.
Set in a small town in Ohio in the seventies, this novel uncovers the “ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.”
Everything I Never Told You is an easy read and a page-turner. It is also beautifully written. Definitely a book club gem!
