I went into this expecting a mystery-thriller about Lydia's disappearance, but although we do find out what happened to her, the crux of the story is a gut-wrenching tragedy about the ramifications on her Chinese-American family, cracking their notions of themselves. I particularly appreciated the ruminations on racial and gender identity that each character struggled with in an era I'm unfamiliar with, and empathized with the familiar burdens caused by dreams and expectations. These themes still resonate today and Ng has demonstrated how facing the unspoken, cruel truths can help heal.