Celeste Ng is a master in her craft. Earlier this year I have read, or devoured, Celeste Ngs second Novel Little Fires Everywhere, that was seen of every favourite of 2017 book lists. I understood it after reading the first chapter, so much so that I immediately bought her first novel Everything I Never Told You. To be honest, I did expect to like her first novel less than her second novel. After reading Little Fires Everywhere I was blown away - there was no way Celeste Ng could write two masterpieces. Turns out I was wrong - Everything I Never Told you was amazing. I finished it last night and after reading the last page I had to put the book away and just stare in the distance a little bit. I was very sad in a way, but on the other hand just as Nath, one of the main characters in the novel, I experienced some kind of closure. Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet. This is how the masterfully written character study of the Lee family in the late 1970s begins. Their oldest and most precious child Lydia disappears. Now each family member has to deal with the repercussions of a death in the family in their own way. We are immersed in an intricate family portrait with morally grey characters, a web of secrets and the expectations of family members that weigh heavy on each main character. Besides amazingly written characters there is another perk in this novel. Celeste Ng clearly knows how to write. It never feels heavy or if she is trying to hard with adverbs and metaphors that don’t make sense. The writing style is memorable but still feels very real. One of the last books I read in 2018 is also one of the best. I will cherish this story for ever - just as I did with Little Fires Everywhere - and wait patiently to read another novel by Celeste Ng.

4.5 Das Buch war so gut geschrieben. Die Charaktere wurden so dargestellt dass man sie einerseits sympathisch fand aber andererseits ihre Handlungen so absurd waren dass man ihre ganze Person in Frage gestellt hat und das erste Bild dass man von ihnen hatte. Die Perspektivenwechsel haben dafür gesorgt dass man mit jeder Person mitfühlen und jede persönliche Handlung und Geschichte aus dem jeweilig eigenen Blickwinkel verstehen konnte, auch wenn man sie aus der Perspektive der anderen Charaktere als unverständlich ansieht. Ich werde auf jeden Fall noch mehr von Celeste Ng lesen!

I was deeply moved by the story of the whole lee family. James who always stood out, Marylin who wanted to archive her dreams but never reached them, Nath who always got overlooked by his family, the basically invisible Hannah and finally Lydia - who got crushed by the expectations of her parents unfulfilled wishes and dreams. A really interesting, but also tragic Story

So this was a tough story. I liked following the story of the family and getting to know each member deeper and to their heart. Everyones storyline gnawed at my heart a bit and I thought the character development was great. I also liked going back and forth in time and the smooth transitions between different character perspectives. The ending was satisfying, if you could say this about a book like this. All in all a great and sad story about a family grieving and self reflection.

I read this book a few years ago and I wish I'd reviewed it then, when it was fresh in my mind. But I remember it being interesting, well-written, moving, sad, frustrating, and moving. I know every unhappy family is supposed to be different, but I think a lot of people can recognize elements of this family.

I was very surprised with this book. I’ve heard so many good things, so I thought this would be a pretty decent book. I found myself bored the entire time. I wouldn’t read this again nor recommend it to anyone. 11/28 Update I’m bumping this up to 4 stars because I was in a slump when I reviewed. This is very well written, and I love the backstory. That was my favorite of the book. I wish there was a more build up, but I can understand that this is literary fiction and not really plot driven.

Amazing how much character dynamic can fit into 299 pages. This is not exactly a plot heavy book, so not everyone might find what they’re looking for. There are no “real surprises”, no “real plot twists”, no shockers. We know from the first line that Lydia is dead. Lovers of character-driven stories though, should have a fine gem with this tale. And I found the opening words such a smart way of dealing out the heavy blow right away so that the rest of the story could unfold in its own way that wasn’t loud or shrill or dramatic in any sense but intelligent, empathic, and almost “soft”. I’ve always loved quiet stories like this that shed light on characters experiencing life in all its scales between the horrible and wonderful. Even more so when the characters’ past is woven in to help see why they can’t (re)act to their current situation any other way than they do. In here, this was brilliantly done and I loved the style. Much as I usually struggle with POV switches, even more so when they happen within the same paragraph, the writing here made it not only work for me but created such a nice complexity which added to the layers of layers of character undertow happening between the lines. Same goes for the interweaving timelines which I don’t always appreciate. Always a bit hesitant with new-to-me authors as well, I did not expect this book to get to me as gently-strongly as it did, but having just closed it upon finishing, I am so happy to have given it a try. This will be a story I’ll keep thinking about for a long, long time.

Am Anfang der Geschichte verschwindet die 16jährige Lydia und wird nach 2 Tagen tot aufgefunden. Die Frage stellt sich, ob es Selbstmord oder doch Mord gewesen ist. Aber eigentlich ist dies fast schon nebensächlich, denn die Geschichte handelt von dem vorherigen Geschehen und all dem Ungesagten (hauptsächlich) in der Familie. Und das ist wirklich nicht ohne gewesen, denn alle Mitglieder der Familie haben Wünsche, Ziele, Träume und ihre eigenen Sorgen, die sie sich nicht gegenseitig mitteilen, sodass ein großer Strudel von Missverständnissen, Unachtsamkeit und Verletzungen entsteht. Außerdem spielen die Wünsche sowie die Ängste der Eltern eine große Rollen, denn diese übertragen ihre unerfüllte Träume an ihre Kinder, teilweise unbewusst, aber auch bewusst. Auch die Ethik von dem Vater spielt eine Rolle in dieser Geschichte, denn er fühlt sich als Chinese immer noch nicht so wirklich angekommen in der weißen amerikanischen Bevölkerung und versucht alles, dass seine Kinder sich gut anpassen können und sich sozialisieren in der Gesellschaft. Diese Geschichte ist sehr tiefgründig und auch voller Emotionen und geht unter die Haut. Ein ausgezeichneter Familienroman, der eindrucksvoll die Dynamik zwischen den Familienmitglieder darstellt und dabei nicht nur an der Oberfläche kratzt. Mein einziger kleiner Kritikpunkt ist der Schreibstil, der mir anfangs etwas Schwierigkeiten bereitet hat, denn die einzelnen Perspektiven fließen ineinander ein, sodass ich anfangs dachte von welcher Perspektive lese ich denn jetzt eigentlich. Aber wenn man einmal drin ist, stellt dies kein Problem mehr da. Die Geschichte endet mit ganz viel Hoffnung und lässt dem Leser einen kleinen Raum für Inspirationen, was hier wirklich sehr stimmig und passend gewesen ist. Somit kann ich hier für dieses Buch nur eine Leseempfehlung aussprechen. Ein schöner Abschluss für unsere #englishbookmission @wordfulbooks

This book broke my heart a hundred times over but it was worth reading this beautiful story about a misunderstandings, love, sorrow and forgiveness. Devastatingly sad but written so well, with characters that I at one point want to shake or strangle and the next moment just to hug them.

Wenn man doch einfach miteinander reden würde. Ich wusste garnicht, dass es möglich ist ein Buch über eine Familie zu schreiben, die konstant in Selbstmitleid badet, zu schreiben und dann auch noch so gute Bewertungen dafür zu bekommen. Die ganze Familie schafft sich durch ihr konstantes Schweigen & Probleme in sich hineinfressen, nur noch mehr Probleme, in denen sie sich dann schön wälzen und sich selbst Bemitleiden, anstatt einmal darüber zu reden & zu versuchen die Probleme zu lösen. Don't get me wrong, ich habe schon schlechteres, aber ab der Hälfte fand ich die ganze Familie nur noch anstrengend. Jede Kleinigkeit wir überdramatisiert, alles ist schlecht und die Welt ist böse, aber definitiv sind nicht die völlig gestörten Familienverhältnisse schuld. Irgendwann habe ich nur noch auf einen guten Plott-twist gehofft, aber selbst der blieb aus. Die Moral aus dem Buch: Bring deinen Kindern schwimmen bei. Die Welt ist Böse. Menschen sind Böse. Das Leben ist scheiße und du kannst nichts daran ändern. Glückwunsch. Ich würde es keinem aus meinem Umfeld weiterempfehlen.

‘Everything i never told you’ es un libro que te hace observar como una familia puede verse afectada por una situación inesperada, en donde la unión será un aspecto clave para sanar grietas formadas en el pasado y que se profundizan con el paso del tiempo hasta explotar. La trama se basa en Lydia, la hija perfecta y favorita de la familia Lee, que tal como lo dice la descripción del libro fallece repentinamente. Esto da a surgir preguntas y causa consecuencias en todos los miembros de la familia, observando sus puntos de vista y las formas de sobrellevar el luto (unas más cuestionables que otras). Durante todo el libro se puede leer que ocurrió antes y después del suceso. Aunque lo leí rápido, no me atrapó por completo. Sin embargo, el final fue una buena forma de culminar todo el ciclo y ver el avance de la familia después de esa trágica situación. En la lectura fácilmente reflexionas los puntos de vista de los personajes, observas aquellas grietas, sacas conclusiones y empatizas. — 2,55 estrellas.

I was kind of underwhelmed, same as with Little Fires Everywhere. I feel like I've been waiting for something big to happen but nothing happens? Maybe I'm just expecting the wrong things from her books. Mostly I was really worried about the 3 siblings the whole time. Especially Hannah (is it just me or did we need social services here?)! Other than that I had very few emotional reactions to what was happening. The writing style and the back and forth between the current timeline and the memories were kind of confusing but that could be because I listened to it on audio. I get that there are many important topics hinted at and talked about in this book, but I feel like that wasn't enough for me to really really like it. I don't get the hype.

Celeste Ng is a wonderfully talented author! Setting aside all her creativity, she has an emotionally engaging writing style that appeals to hearts & minds! The story deals with a family of mixed migration background, swaying back and forth between integrating into the majority in the US and getting pulled back to their Asian roots. The characters in her story are well developed and GENUINE. This is attributed to the fact that Celeste Ng has migration background herself and writes about cultures and characters she observed first-hand. Celeste Ng draws attention to the implications of trying too hard to ´fit-in´. She elaborates the dilemma of culture clash and the self-inflicted pain to be in consonance with the images that are allegedly expected in a foreign culture. Finally, I like that she gets to the core of omnipresent feelings that humankind has regardless of ethnicity, level of education or profession. Awesome read! Upon finishing this one, I immediately devoured Celeste Ng´s epic book `Little Fires Everywhere´.

4.5 this book, man... i don't even know what to write about it. it's hella sad and i wasn't prepared for such a depressing read. i felt like the characters were inside my brain because their thoughts were so real and genuine. and the writing style is excellent. guess i stan celeste ng now.

I was kind of underwhelmed, same as with Little Fires Everywhere. I feel like I've been waiting for something big to happen but nothing happens? Maybe I'm just expecting the wrong things from her books. Mostly I was really worried about the 3 siblings the whole time. Especially Hannah (is it just me or did we need social services here?)! Other than that I had very few emotional reactions to what was happening. The writing style and the back and forth between the current timeline and the memories were kind of confusing but that could be because I listened to it on audio. I get that there are many important topics hinted at and talked about in this book, but I feel like that wasn't enough for me to really really like it. I don't get the hype.

I was kind of underwhelmed, same as with Little Fires Everywhere. I feel like I've been waiting for something big to happen but nothing happens? Maybe I'm just expecting the wrong things from her books. Mostly I was really worried about the 3 siblings the whole time. Especially Hannah (is it just me or did we need social services here?)! Other than that I had very few emotional reactions to what was happening. The writing style and the back and forth between the current timeline and the memories were kind of confusing but that could be because I listened to it on audio. I get that there are many important topics hinted at and talked about in this book, but I feel like that wasn't enough for me to really really like it. I don't get the hype.