Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You bookcover

 

Summary

A Chinese-American girl, Lydia, died after her 16th birthday. Policemen found Lydia’s body at the bottom of the lake and affirmed that she committed suicide, but her parents, Marlyn and James, never believed that Lydia had reasons to commit suicide because she had outstanding performance and was very popular at school. However, based on the policemen’s inquiry, Lydia was totally opposite from her parent’s description; she had neither friends nor good grades at school. Her parents never knew Lydia. The novel narrates from the death of Lydia, and focuses on the causes of her death, especially on how her family environment led to her death. In Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng shows readers the dilemma of Chinese Americans and interracial marriages in the 1970s. Besides, Ng also demonstrates the importance of family education in the novel.

 

Huilin Qi ’19

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