All That's Left Unsaid

A Novel

By: Tracey Lien

Narrated by: Aileen Huynh, Yen Nguyen, Amelia Nguyen

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

2022 LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

A Phenomenal Book Club Pick!

For fans of Everything I Never Told You and The Mothers, a deeply moving and unflinching debut following a young Vietnamese-Australian woman who returns home to her family in the wake of her brother’s shocking murder, determined to discover what happened—a dramatic exploration of the intricate bonds and obligations of friendship, family, and community.

Just let him go. These are the words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny—optimistic, guileless, brilliant Denny—is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, an indifferent police force, and the worst heroin epidemic in Australian history.

Returning home to Cabramatta for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by Denny’s case: a dozen people were at Lucky 8 restaurant when Denny died, but each of the bystanders claim to have seen nothing.

Desperately hoping that understanding what happened might ease her suffocating guilt, Ky sets aside her grief and determines to track down the witnesses herself. With each encounter, she peels back another layer of the place that shaped her and Denny, exposing the seeds of violence that were planted well before that fateful celebration dinner: by colonialism, by the war in Vietnam, and by the choices they’ve all made to survive.

Alternating between Ky’s voice and the perspectives of the witnesses, Tracey Lien’s extraordinary debut is at once heart-pounding and heart-rending as it probes the intricate bonds of friendship, family, and community through an unforgettable cast of characters, all connected by a devastating crime. Combining evocative family drama and gripping suspense, All That’s Left Unsaid is a profound and moving page turner, perfect for readers of Liz Moore, Brit Bennett, and Celeste Ng.

©2022 Tracey Lien (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent listen

I thoroughly enjoyed this story— the narration was perfect and held my attention. It introduced me to a world that I had never even thought about— sad story. I highly recommend

A haunting story

“All That’s Left Unsaid” is an illuminating novel showcasing the heroin epidemic and anti-Asian racism in Cabramatta, a Suburb of Sydney Australia. Many South and North Vietnamese people came to this area after the Vietnam war. Many of the refugees continue to fear white people and maintain certain superstitions that their children, first generation Vietnamese Australian, find difficult to meld their Australian life with their parent’s expectations.

The story is set in 1996 with Ky Tran shocked by her high school aged brother’s brutal murder. Ky is a newspaper reporter in Melbourne, and immediately returns home for her brother’s funeral. Her parents speak little English, using their children as interpreters. As a result, they know nothing about her brother’s murder. In fact, they didn’t even request an autopsy. It’s a frustrating mystery of what happened. It was a busy night at a popular restaurant, and no one saw a thing. Ky feels guilty because her parents called her asking if it would be safe for her brother to attend his end-of-school-year party. It was at this party that her brother was killed. Furthermore, the all-white police force has little interest in solving a case involving a Vietnamese kid.

Author Tracey Lien writes a haunting tale of a woman’s quest to find the truth of her brother’s unspeakable murder. She reflects on her life in Cabramatta and the difficulty of assimilating her parent’s culture with the Australian culture. This is a heartbreaking read which I found mesmerizing.

I listened to the audio narrated by Aileen Huynh, Yen Nguyen, and Amelia Nguyen. I thought the tone of the story perfectly narrated. I highly recommend the audio.

Author is obsessed with going #2

The story has promise but my goodness how many times is the author going to circle back and visit the topic of bowel movements? Gross and quickly repetitive. Every other sentence someone has loose stool, farts, needs to rush to the bathroom. Just enough. Totally distracts from the narrative instead of offering any texture (except the gross kind!)