Reviews tagging 'Grief'

All die ungesagten Dinge: Roman | »Schmerzvoll und voller Schönheit.« Julia Phillips by Tracey Lien

11 reviews

tarnaflake's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Racism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Grief, and Hate crime

internationalreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Cursing, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Death

karabeavis's review against another edition

mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. Possibly the best book I’ve read this year. I’m a bit undone by it. It’s sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse and Toxic relationship

katarinabee's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Really great exploration of 1990s Cabramatta, the impacts of intergenerational trauma, and the toxicity of perfectionism. I liked how each chapter was from a different character's perspective - you really developed so much empathy for each person's situation, and how their own world view / personality etc motivated their behaviour.  Having previously worked in the Cabramatta/ Fairfield area myself for a number of years, it was personally really interesting to understand more about what Cabramatta was like 20 years ago (and that some of the struggles of that time are still likely impacting people today).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

woolgatherer'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: Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Drug use and Child abuse

Minor: War, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

kellyung's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Blood

e11en's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Brilliant. So beautiful and so clever. I loved it despite the heartbreak.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Grief, Child death, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug use and Physical abuse

inyourwords's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Addiction

jtran's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Murder, Death, Violence, Grief, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Domestic abuse

daniela_is_reading's review against another edition

4.0

📚 All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
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Post Vietnam war, a young Ky Tran and her family immigrate to Australia. They settle in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta. A suburb notorious in the 80's and 90's for its gang related violence and crimes.

Ky is a conscious student, determined to do well and prove she is a 'somebody'. We watch her navigate family life, cultural traditions, societal  expectations and friendships, and all the while attempting to conform and fit in with her Australian peers and lifestyle.

Fast forward to 1996 and Ky's 17 year old brother is gruesomely murdered in a local restaurant. There's plenty of witnesses, yet they all claim to have seen nothing. Ky, now in her early 20's, is determined to find answers and justice for her brother. In doing so, she learns not only more of those around her but also, herself.  She reflects on past and present mistakes and regrets, and we see what it looks like to love and hate, hurt and forgive, all in a single moment.

A novel of the life of a refugee.
It's thought provoking and confronting but worth it. Definately my kind of book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Grief