“Because more than anything, her mother had wanted to stand out; because more than anything, her father had wanted to blend in. Because those things had been impossible.”
-Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
Overview:
Celeste Ng’s debut novel, Everything I Never Told You is one of the best novels that I have read. It is utterly tragic yet delightful. I could not sit still until I had read the whole story, and when I finished it, I needed time to absorb the ending and the reality.
A masterpiece: utterly engaging, amazingly moving, and pregnant with grief and dysfunction!
The Story of Everything I Never Told You:
The story revolves around a Chinese-American family who craves and tries to get acceptance in American society. However, each one of them miserably fails. The story begins when a teenage girl, Lydia, disappears, and later she returns home as a dead body. All the characters play with the thread of love, acceptance, and identity to weave a yarn ball that would later strangle them to death.
Lydia tries to fulfill the dream of her mother, Marilyn, to become a doctor. Likewise, his father James wants her to have an active and good social life, for he never had one. The daughter tries to keep up with the dreams of her parents, but gradually, all the things start to take an ugly turn. The father, consumed by guilt and sorrow, chooses the wrong path while the mother tries to find someone to blame for this disaster. Their son Nathan, on the other hand, feels robbed of all love and attention, but cannot blame.
Would the family be able to resolve the puzzle of the death of their daughter? Or will the death shatter the family apart?
Review Time:
The story unfolds a gloomy and depressing darkness that not only eats the characters alive but also the readers. The readers feel consumed and haunted by the plot’s development at many points. For instance, the relationship between Lydia and Nath is so bizarre and unexpected sometimes.
“He pushed her in. And then he pulled her out. All her life, Lydia would remember one thing. All his life, Nath would remember another.”
-Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
Ng has done an amazing job of portraying the gender and race issues prevailing in American society in a realistic manner. She is a gifted writer, without an iota of doubt.
Everything I Never Told You is engaging, depressing, and frustrating. One cannot help but question the importance of communication in one’s family.
One of the most heart-wrenching moments is that the family will never be able to know the whole truth regarding Lydia’s death. To me, this aspect of the novel is sprinkled with reality because reality is not only complex but also incomplete.
We cannot solve each puzzle every time. The mystery remains a mystery!
Writing Style:
The writing style is simple, engrossing, and creative. The writing reflects the themes of the novel, that is, depression and darkness. Like her other work of literature, Little Fires Everywhere, Ng plays with the words and lures the readers with her dance of words.
I would recommend it to everyone who loves family drama or tragedy.
In fact, Everyone who wants to read a good book must give it a read.
