Do Not Say We Have Nothing

by Madeleine Thien

The old world shall be destroyed. Arise, slaves, arise! Do not say that we have nothing

Yiwen had a portable cassette player and she was always listening to music as she walked. It was very modern and deeply Western to listen to music that no one else could hear. Private music led to private thoughts. Private thoughts led to private desires, to private fulfillments or private hungers, to a whole private universe away from parents, family and society.

There is no way across the river but to feel for the stones.