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An immigrant family drama set in 90s Sydney delivers a potent message about identity and belonging.

- STEPHANIE JOHNSON

ALL THAT’S LEFT UNSAID, by Tracey Lien (HQ Fiction, $39.99)

Tracey Lien’s debut novel tells a universal story, which is possibly why it has been picked up by a major UK publisher despite being firmly set in Cabramatta, Western Sydney. It’s a story of identity – of how a young person removed from their cultural roots will still define themselves as belonging to their motherland. It is also a story, like so many others told just now, that is full of anger and vitriol against the dominant culture.

Debut novels are often fairly autobiographical, and this one certainly draws from the author’s experiences. Lien was born of Vietnamese parents in Sydney’s west, unlike her protagonist, Ky (pronounced Key), who was born in Vietnam and came to Australia with her refugee parents as an infant. Lien lives in New York, but was previously a journalist in Los Angeles. Ky has also broken away from Cabramatta, but not so far – she is a journalist for the Herald Sun in Melbourne.