Reviews

All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

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kiwichill's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

naharobed's review against another edition

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3.0

A heartbreaking story about a young Vietnamese-Australian woman named Ky, who returns home when her younger brother is murdered. The story centers around this mystery of what happened to Denny at the Lucky 8 restaurant the night he was killed—there were several people there but no one claims to have seen anything. The book takes place in the 90s and explores how the actions of one person can have reverberating consequences.

But maybe more so than the murder is a story about the Vietnamese community in this suburb of Australia. I had no idea how strong the anti-Asian sentiment was in Australia at this time when countless refugees fled the Vietnam War and settled in these suburbs. I also had no idea about the heroin epidemic that ravaged these communities. When we read from the perspective of Ky and Denny’s parents, we can see how the plight of these immigrants affected the families for generations to come. I did enjoy the book overall, but I thought the two different elements of the story could have been blended better. It often felt like one was just a plot device for the other instead of them blending together to form a seamless story. Ky is primarily our main character, but she was definitely my least favorite. The glimpses we got of her parents’ and her brother’s stories were infinitely more interesting.

readwithanna's review against another edition

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3.25

While I liked the story overall I didn't find the disconnected one-chapter point of views from some of the restaurant observers engaging or even necessary. Especially the kid. I contemplated dnfing just because of that one chapter.

acheng's review against another edition

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4.0

moving read. the only disappointing thing about this book was finding out the senseless reason behind Denny's death, though that's what really makes it mirror reality where sometimes the most important people are lost because of pointless things

"Would an explanation of why something was not done in the past make you feel better? Because if it would change your life for the better and put happiness in your heart, pull up a chair and I will explain everything I have never done."

"She gave herself emotional whiplash as she swung between extremes... She hated feeling out of control, like she didn't understand people, like she couldn't predict what they would do, like they were drifting away from her."