DO NOT SAY WE HAVE NOTHING

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Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien, W W Norton & Company, 2016, 463 pp

Summary from Goodreads: Master storyteller Madeleine Thien takes us inside an extended family in China, showing us the lives of two successive generations—those who lived through Mao’s Cultural Revolution and their children, who became the students protesting in Tiananmen Square. At the center of this epic story are two young women, Marie and Ai-Ming. Through their relationship Marie strives to piece together the tale of her fractured family in present-day Vancouver, seeking answers in the fragile layers of their collective story. Her quest will unveil how Kai, her enigmatic father, a talented pianist, and Ai-Ming’s father, the shy and brilliant composer, Sparrow, along with the violin prodigy Zhuli were forced to reimagine their artistic and private selves during China’s political campaigns and how their fates reverberate through the years with lasting consequences. 

My Review:

This novel about China under Mao, then under Deng, at Tiananmen Square, spoke to me on so many levels and I felt passionate about it on every page. Three days after finishing it, my thoughts and heart are still reverberating.

For many, including two-thirds of the reading group who went with my suggestion, it will be a challenging read. Music, the study and composition and playing of, permeates the story. The three generations of two extended families interweave. Time is fluid. But it is very much a female perspective on political change and oppression, on the attack to the sense of self and freedom of thought for all people who live under it, especially to creatives.

The author preserves a secret story within her story. As far as I am concerned, she has fulfilled the purpose of novels, of writing fiction and of using language to express the nearly inexpressible. Math, music, writing across cultures and borderlines can be antidotes to oppression, providing a tenuous hold on sanity. I adore intelligent women and have added Madeleine Thien to my growing list.

I was encouraged to read this novel by a review on The Nature of Things blog. Thank you Dorothy! Here is a link to her excellent review: http://birdwoman-thenatureofthings.blogspot.com/2016/12/do-not-say-we-have-nothing-by-madeleine.html

(Do Not Say We Have Nothing is available in hardcover by order from Once Upon A Time Bookstore.)