Basic Topology

Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet . . .So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Everything I Never Told You is a gripping page-turner, about secrets, love, longing, lies & race.Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn & James Lee; a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eyes & her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue - in Marilyn's case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James's case, that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life & the centre of every party. But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in a 1970s small-town Ohio. Her father is an American born of 1st-generation Chinese immigrants, & his ethnicity, & hers, make them conspicuous in any setting."At its core, Ng's book is a conventional, domestically centred novel about an American family ...despite the Lees' interracial status, issues of ethnic & cultural identity are largely 2ndary to Ng's main ambition here: probing the emotional wounds that have scarred the family ...Ng's portrait of the relationship between Lydia & Marilyn, especially, feels true & fully realized. It's also heart-wrenching ... an engaging work that casts a powerful light on the secrets that have kept an American family together — & that finally end up tearing it apart." - Hector Tobar, L.A. TimesCeleste Ng wrote the novel Everything I Never Told You, which was a NY Times bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book of 2014, & also the winner of the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, the ALA’s Alex Award, & the Medici Book Club Prize, & a finalist for others, including the Ohioana Award, the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award, & the VCU Cabell 1st Novelist Award. " Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet. So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue-in Marilyn's case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James's case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party. When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest of the family-Hannah-who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened. A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, exploring the divisions between cultures and the rifts within a family, and uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another"-- Provided by publisher A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year • A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • Winner of the Alex Award and the Massachusetts Book Award • Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR , San Francisco Chronicle , Entertainment Weekly , The Huffington Post , BuzzFeed , Grantland Booklist , St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Shelf Awareness , Book Riot , School Library Journal , Bustle , and Time Our New York The acclaimed debut novel by the author of Little Fires Everywhere and Our Missing Hearts “A taut tale of ever deepening and quickening suspense.” — O , the Oprah Magazine “ Explosive . . . Both a propulsive mystery and a profound examination of a mixed-race family.” — Entertainment Weekly “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another. The acclaimed debut novel by the author of Little Fires Everywhere . "A deep, heartfelt portrait of a family." -- Alexander Chee, The New York Times Book Review "Wonderfully moving...A beautifully crafted study of dysfunction and grief." -- The Boston Globe "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another