“What made something precious? Losing it and finding it.”
I have to admit, I am a little late reading this book because it was published in March 2015 and I have heard so much about it. “Everything I never told you” has mostly good reviews but with the plethora of books that I am always reading, this one slipped through. However, I did buy a copy at Chapters in Ontario and started reading it at the store while my son played in the toy- area with Thomas Train and the train tracks they put up for the kids to enjoy. “Chapters” is awesome. I love this bookstore so much. And the personnel is so friendly and helpful. Here is my review if you would like to read.
The first two sentences in the book are “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet”. I thought this was really catching and interesting. It made me want to figure out how you could start giving away the main plot and work around it and explain why this all happened. The book is about a mixed-race family (Chinese/Caucasian American) who lived in 1970s Ohio when mixed relationships like theirs were uncommon. You soon realize that Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James. Lydia (sixteen-years-old) has an older brother, Nathan, and a younger sister, Hannah. You almost don’t hear anything about Hannah. The mother actually did not set the table for her once because she forgot Hannah was even there. Sad, I though! Marilyn and James had dreams but they never fulfilled them. James never got the Harvard teaching position he wanted and Marilyn wanted to become a doctor but did not continue studying when she got pregnant and married James. Lydia is supposed to fulfill their dreams and both parents want her to be better and improve her studies.
While reading this book I saw again how hard it must have been for a woman in the 70s to reach a good position on the job market or in the man’s world. It was defiantly not easy for women throughout this time. Marilyn read science books to her daughter as a bedside store to make her fall asleep. At some point Ng describes how Marilyn left the family and how traumatized both kids were because she wanted to pursue her dreams of a doctorate in medicine and simply studying again. Marilyn returns but halfheartedly and mostly because of her pregnancy with Hannah. Lydia did not want her mother to leave again so she thought studying and working with her mother works well to keep her at home.
I found it very difficult to read how Marilyn and James focused their attention on Lydia while her oldest son got accepted at Harvard University and nobody paid any attention to the youngest sister Hannah. Hannah just suffered in silence throughout the entire novel but here and then you do get a glimpse of her feelings. At the same time both sister and brother realize how the parents focus on the middle daughter Lydia. You learn in the story how all this affected the children and more. What they experienced at school, racism and gender equality.
Overall, I mostly felt for Marilyn and how she tried to go back to school to change something in her life. I highly recommend the book. Especially, if you want to read about characters that are masterfully described and developed. Also, if you enjoy a story on how it must have felt to be in a mixed-couple relationship in the 70s and the struggles they experienced from society.
Thank you for reading my blog.
