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All that's left unsaid : a novel  Cover Image E-audiobook E-audiobook

All that's left unsaid : a novel / Tracey Lien.

Lien, Tracey, (author.). Huynh, Aileen, (narrator.). Nguyen, Yen, (narrator.). Nguyen, Amelia, (narrator.).

Summary:

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.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780063227767
  • ISBN: 0063227762
  • Physical Description: 1 online resource (1 audio file (09 hr., 39 min., 12 sec.)) : digital
  • Edition: Unabridged.
  • Publisher: [New York] : HarperAudio, 2022.

Content descriptions

Participant or Performer Note:
Read by Aileen Huynh, Yen Nguyen and Amelia Nguyen.
Source of Description Note:
Online resource; title from title details screen (OverDrive; viewed September 16, 2022).
Subject: Vietnamese > Australia > Fiction.
Families > Australia > Fiction.
Homecoming > Fiction.
Brothers > Death > Fiction.
Murder > Investigation > Fiction.
Sydney (N.S.W.) > Fiction.
Brothers > Death.
Families.
Homecoming.
Murder > Investigation.
Vietnamese.
Australia.
New South Wales > Sydney.
Genre: Downloadable audio books.
Audiobooks.
Detective and mystery fiction.
Domestic fiction.
Fiction.
Thrillers (Fiction)
Audiobooks.
Domestic fiction.
Detective and mystery fiction.
Thrillers (Fiction)

Electronic resources


  • AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2024 January
    Aileen Huynh delivers a compelling performance as Ky Tran, a relentless journalist in pursuit of answers surrounding her brother's brutal murder. Huynh's nuanced portrayal adds depth to the narrative. As Ky unravels layers of intrigue, Huynh expertly conveys the emotional toll of her investigation. Listeners are drawn into an unfiltered view of the period after the War in Vietnam, as well as the Vietnamese immigrant experience in Australia, centered around Sydney. Through Ky, and Minnie, a childhood friend who is forever in Ky's mind, narrator Huynh recounts Ky's pursuit of fearful and reluctant witnesses. Listeners also hear the perspectives of others Ky taps through the performances of Yen Nguyen and Amelia Nguyen. The result is a beautifully written, well-narrated story of cultural struggles and familial expectations. E.Q. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
  • Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 November #2
    Denny died at the Lucky 8 restaurant after his high school formal, his "Most Likely to Succeed"-sash still tucked into his borrowed suit. In 1996 small-town Cabramatta, populated by children of Southeast Asian refugees coming of age amidst drug-related violence, Denny was that perfect kid: an academic superstar beloved by his struggling parents. Although Denny was surrounded by people who cared, no one will admit to seeing what happened to him. When older sister Ky, a Melbourne journalist, returns home for the funeral, she disregards the ineffective (white) police to tenaciously uncover the truth for herself. Aileen Huynh ciphers the majority; while she's consistently affecting as Ky, she doesn't particularly distinguish other witnesses. Yen Nguyen shatters hearts as Denny; Amelia Nguyen stands out—for memorable characterization, but also somewhat awkwardly for being the only other-witness narrator—as prodigious 10-year-old Lulu, whose social pyramid analysis (from the white Kimberlys to the "soy sauce sandwich"-eaters) is brilliantly biting. Quibbles aside, debut novelist Lien gets an aural boost from her fellow Australian trio. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.
  • Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2023 March

    The tragic loss of her teenage brother brings Ky Tran back to her family's home for the funeral. Upon discovering he was brutally murdered in a busy restaurant where none of the patrons claim to have witnessed anything, Ky uses her grief to fuel her search for the truth. Told through alternating perspectives between the witnesses and Ky, present-day events are interwoven with flashbacks that give depth and nuance to the characters, their motivations, and the events that led up to the savage beating that ended a promising young man's life. Lien's debut novel explores the bonds and duty of family, the meaning of friendship, and the experience of growing up as a Vietnamese Australian in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave wrought with gang violence and drugs. At times funny, heartbreaking, and hopeful, the narrative explores what it is to be human, make mistakes, and forgive. VERDICT Vietnamese Australian narrators Aileen Huynh, Yen Nguyen, and Amelia Nguyen give their characters cultural authenticity and bring their personalities to life through vibrant, emotional performances. Recommended for all public libraries.—Katy Duperry

    Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

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