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| Everything I Never Told You |
Lydia
Lee, favoured daughter of James and Marilyn Lee, sister to Hannah and Nathan,
intelligent, beautiful and perfect in her parents’ eyes, is dead. A non-swimmer, Lydia is found floating in the
lake. Her parents immediately blame an
outsider. But Lydia, it turns out, is
not what she seemed.
In small
town Ohio in the 1970s, the Lees are an anomaly. James is Chinese – Marilyn is white. Growing up, James was often the object of
ridicule, and as an adult he still acutely feels the pain of being
ostracized. James put all his efforts
into his education, and he excelled. But
what James wants now for his daughter is popularity and conformity – he wants
her to fit in.
Like
James, Marilyn excelled in school. In
university, she was often the only woman in her science classes. Men never took her seriously, but Marilyn
persisted. But pregnancy changed all
that. Now a mother of three, Marilyn
desperately wants Lydia to succeed where she failed.
Both
parents badger Lydia constantly about school and friendships. She is signed up for accelerated science
classes, given pretty dresses and told to go to the dance. As the pressure mounts, Lydia becomes more
and more dishonest about who she really is.
She just can’t maintain the perfection that her parents expect.
Each
family member’s story is slowly revealed as the novel goes on. Nathan is a lover of astronomy and an
excellent student. When he is accepted
to Harvard, his parents barely notice.
Nathan is also a very perceptive brother. He sees the pressure that Lydia is under and
offers his comfort and sympathy.
Hannah is
younger and creeps about like a cat. She
has grown up being ignored. She has
become silent and watchful, with an uncanny understanding of her elders.
In
Lydia’s case, her unhappiness ultimately leads to her death. But was it
suicide? Was she lured to the lake by
the undesirable boy she’s been hanging out with? Each family member pursues their own
leads. In the end, despite their
dysfunctionality, Ng offers hope that this family can, somehow, make amends.
Emotional examination of family relations and the burden of concealed expectations which are present in “Everything I Never Told You” is very strong It is interesting to read a book as it is because Celeste Ng has an excellent approach to the description of the problems of identity and inclusion. Self and social influences are concepts that, as a researcher observing influencer marketing dissertation topics, I can identify significant resemblances. As with the subtleties that we have to consider in the processes of digital marketing strategies, this story also stresses the need to consider hidden drives and the roles of social dynamics. Ng has made a fine and meaningful report which gives a rather profound insight into what it means to be human.
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ReplyDeleteThis is an emotional story of self-discovery and Mapquest Directions forgiveness within an imperfect family.
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