BOOK REVIEW: EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU BY CELESTE NG

UGH, THIS BOOK. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN.

(actual gif of me reading this book)

When I finished Everything I Never Told You, I gently put it down, curled up on my bed, and just indulged myself in a good cry. That should give you an indication as to how hard this book hit me. "Poignant" doesn't even begin to cover it.

This book is without a doubt one of the most purposefully written books I have ever read. Every single one of its sentences feels like the perfect one, like it was created for the very purpose of describing what Ng wanted it to describe. Ng's writing is simple, but never simplistic. Hers is the kind of simplicity that feels effortless and organic, but at the same time so laden with pent up emotion and pain. And I think what's most remarkable about that is how crisp the writing ends up feeling. It somehow evokes all the pathos and complexity of flowery, exaggerated writing without being flowery or exaggerated itself. Reading it was a visceral experience, to say the least--and I truly mean that.

And my God, the characters. You understand them so well and feel for them so strongly, yet they are never clear-cut or easy to understand.The fluidity with which Ng develops these characters absolutely astounded me. She could've easily given us separate POV chapters for each of the characters, told us "Okay, here's a Lydia chapter. Now, here's a James chapter, etc.," but she didn't. Instead, she somehow managed to mesh these voices into a dynamic whole, all the while making each voice distinct and authentic on its own. I cannot begin to convey to you how deeply I felt for these characters, old and young, parents and children. Every one of them stands so clearly in my mind, and if you told me they were real, I wouldn't be surprised because they felt anything but fictional.

Last but not least, Ng brings up so many relevant and human issues in this book. Needless to say, like everything she does in this book, she handles these topics with the utmost delicacy and care. It would be so reductive to deem this book "a book about racism" or "a dysfunctional family drama" or "a book about a dead girl." Honestly, it would be reductive to call Everything I Never Told You "a book about X" because it is a decidedly complex book. Sure, it brings up issues of marginalization and being othered. Yes, it's about a dysfunctional family. But when you read this book, these issues are never so bluntly handled. It's not so heavy-handed that you can be like oh, ok here's the passage on why racism is bad. Part of Ng's magic is that she takes these issues that undeniably affect the characters--racism, sexism, neglect, isolation--and weaves them into the way these characters make choices and interact and carry themselves. These issues are as much something these characters talk and think about as they are something they live out.

I could honestly go on and on. This is now one of my all time favourite books and, honestly, one of the easiest 5 stars I've ever given. Everything I Never Told You is so many things. It's complex, profound, understated, deeply moving, and, at its core, so very human. I finished it last week and I already want to reread it. I want to pick apart this book. I want to bask in its evocative writing. I want to pay attention to every one of its words, because every one matters.

If I can recommend you read one book, it's this one. If you haven't gathered already, it's pretty phenomenal.