Book: Do Not Say We Have Nothing

"Do Not Say We Have Nothing" by Madeleine Thien is a mesmerizing novel that intricately weaves together the stories of two families caught in the tumultuous sweep of Chinese history. Spanning from the rise of Chairman Mao to the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests, the narrative centers on the lives of two generations grappling with the forces that shape their worlds.

At the heart of the story is Marie, a young girl living in Canada, who delves into the mysterious past of her father after his sudden death. Through the discovery of a collection of notebooks and the arrival of Ai-Ming, a Chinese refugee, Marie unravels the interconnected fates of musicians and intellectuals who endured the Cultural Revolution. Thien's elegant prose captures the intimate and epic, portraying the complexity of human resilience and the enduring spirit of artistic expression amid political upheaval. The novel is a poignant meditation on memory, loss, and the enduring bonds of family, exploring how history reverberates through individual lives across continents and generations.