Do Not Say We Have Nothing

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I read this book cover to cover and I've rated it five stars; yet frankly I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. Certainly the author writes well. This is prose that is almost like poetry and very relaxing. However the plots moves slowly - painfully slowly at times. About the narrator who is the most interesting character we learn practically nothing. Instead the book is a long series of flashbacks telling the story of a family that was closely related to hers (not blood related) and how their daughter eventually managed to wind up living and influencing the narrator for a time and then vanishing.

It appears that the author's theme is that 'not everything will pass'; nevertheless, everything and everyone in the book is ephemeral - there for the moment and then washed away either by choice or by historical inevitability.

Character development is a large part of the story and yet they seldom seem to change. Sometimes one would like to reach out and grab Sparrow, Ai-ming, and Zhuli and shake them into some form of rational thinking. These are characters who stand around thinking deep introspective thoughts when the world is collapsing around their ears. It doesn't take all that much deep thought to figure out that if someone is shooting at you it's a really good idea to go in the opposite direction - quickly. As a result, while they are likeable, they really aren't believable.

The setting for this story is Mainland China starting with the Great Leap Forward through the Cultural Revolution and traveling forward in time all the way to the Tiananmen Square Massacre which, the author points out, was a bit of a misnomer since much of the killing occurred in areas somewhat removed from the square, and even in cities and towns outside of Beijing. It illustrates how the craving for power can result in a single-minded ideology that will ruthlessly crush any and all opposition. I doubt very much that Madeleine Thien would be particularly welcome in China after writing this novel.

I can recommend this novel but with a few caveats. If you don't like slow plot development then stay away. Also I found many of the characters difficult to understand coming as I do from a western perspective. Possibly if I had relatives in China it might make a big difference. Also many of the characters play or write music so if you don't like a bit of musical terminology or if you dislike classical music then this book probably isn't for you. Still, I found it fascinating. I still don't know if I liked it or not but, like an ear-worm, it continues to stay in my mind.



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