Reviews tagging 'War'

All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

7 reviews

pri_t's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

4.0

Book club book.

My Ratings (from our book club forms):
Characters - 4/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot Story - 5/5

General vibes from everyone:
- Liked the multi POV - but least enjoyed Lulu’s
- Good range of characters that were fleshed out 
- Migrant experiences in which some aspects were relatable but a lot was new to read and learn about 

My notes:
- Liked learning and seeing the different migrant experiences and different experiences of the Vietnamese war and what immigrating looked like for them 
- Didn’t appreciate the crying at 1:30am in the morning as I finished the book. (Really liked that I got so moved by the story and characters)

My Fave quotes:
- “…until one day flora couldn’t remember what her brother had looked like before his skin declared war on him.”
- “He told her he loved her. He’d never said it again, embarrassed by his break in tradition, embarrassed by his honesty.”
- ”…beacuse what do the living do but carry the weight of the dead?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism

sangsmiles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Colonisation, and War

helloitskate's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and War

Minor: Addiction and Blood

ceedy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism, Murder, and War

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

It’s so nice to read stories that focus on the diaspora outside of the United States. In this case, All That’s Left Unsaid focuses on the Vietnamese diaspora in Cabramatta, a suburb outside of Sydney. This is a heartbreaking story in many ways, drawing attention to the difficulties that shaped the Vietnamese community of this suburb, as well as the life of the protagonist, Ky. While this seems to be marketed as a mystery (which it technically is, since Ky is trying to find out who murdered her brother), this didn’t really read to me as a mystery book. To me, it was more a contemplation on the struggles of this Vietnamese community dealing with unchecked racism, immigration, drug abuse and addiction, the traumas of war which, inevitably, leads to generational trauma. In other words, if you’re hoping for a standard murder mystery, this book won’t meet that expectation.

All things considered, I thought Lien addressed these topics quite well, in the sense that none of them read as superficial or an afterthought. That being said, I think the pacing and execution of the story itself was a bit rough. It took some time to get used to the jumping back and forth between the past and present, which I felt disrupted the overall flow of the book. As a result, this affected the pacing. I didn’t feel engaged during some parts of the book, while other moments were gripping.

Ultimately, though, I think it is worth picking up this book, especially if you’re interested in reading diasporic literature that doesn’t center USians.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and War

bookishcori's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and War

forgottenangstycharacter's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War