Everything I Never Told You
If you enjoyed this review, please consider purchasing this book from my Amazon Associates link (applies to Kindle purchases as well): https://amzn.to/3RuJuWO. The commissions I receive from your purchase help pay for the costs of running this website. Thanks for your support!
I’m not sure what all the fuss is about here. It’s very book clubby. I’m not using that as a dig towards book clubs (book clubs obviously rock— plz invite me to your book club) but I think that the discussions that spring from this novel are more interesting than the novel itself.
Even though I like elements of Celeste Ng’s writing style, this story fell flat for me. She created a family of complex characters with interesting points of view, but incidentally pigeonholed them into one-dimensional clichés. For example, the dad resents his Chinese ancestry for making him stand out when all he wants to do is fit in. That’s some solid, usable tension, but it consumes his personality. All of his thoughts and actions are driven by this yearning and Celeste is constantly reminding us that that’s the case as if we’re kindergarteners. Of course, race and identity are crucial to a character’s development, but it was the only thing. The same issue applied to the other characters: the mom resents being a housewife, and that resentment is the source of everything she says and does; the brother feels unfairly neglected, and he fixates on that the entire time, etc. These details have meat but they’re driven into the ground. ~We get it~
Things I did like: Celeste’s nonlinear switches in perspective. She seamlessly jumps around between characters and time without confusing the reader. I also enjoy her signature move that she pulls in Little Fires Everywhere: throwing in a glimpse into a character’s future almost as an afterthought. It’s like a little gift for the reader–the story won’t go that far into the future, but we can still have some insight as a treat.
I’m impressed that this is her first novel, but it has to have that caveat for me to really give it its flowers. Overall, it was a quick, easy read that had its moments but didn’t wow me. It receives 3 out of 5 flames.
