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jenn_nguyen's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
intrepidthespian's review
Thien has a great writer’s voice and beautiful way of weaving in multigenerational stories, but I think I struggle with historical fiction (not that I’d necessary call this purely historical fiction), so I’m gonna revisit maybe in a few months.
ruth24's review
I have to admit that it was a struggle for me to get through [b:Do Not Say We Have Nothing|31549906|Do Not Say We Have Nothing|Madeleine Thien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473220440s/31549906.jpg|47869112]. At about a quarter of the way through I almost gave up, but I'm glad I didn't.
From a review of the book on Quill & Quire: Do Not Say We Have Nothing examines the lives of musicians in 20th-century China, and the effect of the monumental political changes that had ruinous effects on people’s lives.
While I did enjoy the overarching story, I found it very dense and difficult to understand at times. I was confused about who was who and how they were connected to one another in the beginning and I found it hard to understand the political ideologies and what exactly was going on. This is why I've given the book a 2 rather than a 3.
The best part of the book for me was the last 30% or so, where the past and present started to come together. Sparrow was my favourite character. He was so gentle and kind, especially to Zhuli, and I really enjoyed their relationship.
[b:Do Not Say We Have Nothing|31549906|Do Not Say We Have Nothing|Madeleine Thien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473220440s/31549906.jpg|47869112] made me see how horrible events can affect multiple generations of a family, with all the hurt and negativity trickling down from grandparent to parent to child. It reminded me of [b:Everything Is Illuminated|256566|Everything Is Illuminated|Jonathan Safran Foer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479774440s/256566.jpg|886727] in this way. I also liked how the book showed the different ways in which people coped with what was happening in China at that time.
Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book unless you're in the mood to delve into something a bit more complicated, or if you have a special interest in history/politics. I don't - which is why it was trickier for me to get in to.
From a review of the book on Quill & Quire: Do Not Say We Have Nothing examines the lives of musicians in 20th-century China, and the effect of the monumental political changes that had ruinous effects on people’s lives.
While I did enjoy the overarching story, I found it very dense and difficult to understand at times. I was confused about who was who and how they were connected to one another in the beginning and I found it hard to understand the political ideologies and what exactly was going on. This is why I've given the book a 2 rather than a 3.
The best part of the book for me was the last 30% or so, where the past and present started to come together. Sparrow was my favourite character. He was so gentle and kind, especially to Zhuli, and I really enjoyed their relationship.
[b:Do Not Say We Have Nothing|31549906|Do Not Say We Have Nothing|Madeleine Thien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473220440s/31549906.jpg|47869112] made me see how horrible events can affect multiple generations of a family, with all the hurt and negativity trickling down from grandparent to parent to child. It reminded me of [b:Everything Is Illuminated|256566|Everything Is Illuminated|Jonathan Safran Foer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479774440s/256566.jpg|886727] in this way. I also liked how the book showed the different ways in which people coped with what was happening in China at that time.
Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book unless you're in the mood to delve into something a bit more complicated, or if you have a special interest in history/politics. I don't - which is why it was trickier for me to get in to.
categj's review against another edition
5.0
Madeleine Thien’s novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing, is a sweeping saga of revolutionary China covering Mao Zedong’s rise to power to the 1989 student protests at Tiananmen Square and on through to present day Vancouver.
This complicated multi-generational story chronicles a dark, era in Chinese history, where friends and families turned on each other in a frantic effort to save themselves from China’s cruel regime. It was a brutal time for the people, especially students, artists and musicians — a time when their very existence was threatened by their resistance to conform.
Central to this story are historical events including the destruction of the Shanghai Music Conservatory, the vilification of the musicians and teachers there and the Tiananmen Square massacre. Don’t Say We Have Nothing follows the lives of Sparrow, an accomplished composer, Zhuli, his cousin, and a talented violinist and Jiang Kai, one of Sparrow’s most promising students, a brilliant pianist. The book tells the tale of immense loss, unspeakable violence and cruelty that gripped the lives of the Chinese people for over forty years.
Thien expertly weaves together family history, music and math to explore the depths of human emotion that enable us to survive tragedy and loss — even to hold on to love and self no matter the obstacles we face.
The novel follows the characters through the decades as each survives the devastation in their own way. The story travels back and forth in time, moving from Shanghai to Beijing to Vancouver, chronicling the history of the families.
In this novel, Ms. Thien exposes us to great insights into the history of China. With beautiful writing, a compelling story and memorable characters, the author takes us into the dark inhumanity of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution — retelling a story that must not be forgotten.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing is noteworthy novel, haunting, dark, and beautiful in its complexity. Well worth the read.
This complicated multi-generational story chronicles a dark, era in Chinese history, where friends and families turned on each other in a frantic effort to save themselves from China’s cruel regime. It was a brutal time for the people, especially students, artists and musicians — a time when their very existence was threatened by their resistance to conform.
Central to this story are historical events including the destruction of the Shanghai Music Conservatory, the vilification of the musicians and teachers there and the Tiananmen Square massacre. Don’t Say We Have Nothing follows the lives of Sparrow, an accomplished composer, Zhuli, his cousin, and a talented violinist and Jiang Kai, one of Sparrow’s most promising students, a brilliant pianist. The book tells the tale of immense loss, unspeakable violence and cruelty that gripped the lives of the Chinese people for over forty years.
Thien expertly weaves together family history, music and math to explore the depths of human emotion that enable us to survive tragedy and loss — even to hold on to love and self no matter the obstacles we face.
The novel follows the characters through the decades as each survives the devastation in their own way. The story travels back and forth in time, moving from Shanghai to Beijing to Vancouver, chronicling the history of the families.
In this novel, Ms. Thien exposes us to great insights into the history of China. With beautiful writing, a compelling story and memorable characters, the author takes us into the dark inhumanity of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution — retelling a story that must not be forgotten.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing is noteworthy novel, haunting, dark, and beautiful in its complexity. Well worth the read.
theeuphoriczat's review against another edition
4.0
"People aren't made to float through the air. Unless we know the weight of our bodies, unless we feel the force of gravity, we'll forget what we are, we'll lose ourselves without even noticing"
The story beings with Ai-ming who moves to Canada following the Tiananmen Square Massacre to live with a family friends. As her relationship with the Daughter (of the house) - Marie deepened, Ai-ming begins to recount the events of the last few years including stories of revolutionary attempts that have been passed down in whispers, lest the hand of power hears.
.
In telling her story, we are taking back decades where we are introduced to a group of music students whose dream to perform symphonies was quieted by the roar of communism, leading to them partaking in cultural revolutions. What follows is a tale of courage, revolutionary idealism, music and silence and intimacy. These three students, Violin prodigy Zhuli, brilliant composer Sparrow and enigmatic pianist Kai are at every turn tested to the limits of human endurance as they are forced to choose between their love for the arts and communal survival.
With each scene of intimacy, Madeleine creates a constant looming threat of decimation as the characters grapple with an ever changing technological and political landscape. More importantly, at least to me, is how Madeleine discusses communal betrayal and destruction. The constant fear made people unwilling to support and protect people who were fighting against oppression; it made it really evident that politician rarely ever have to do anything to handpick and kill off policital opposition as they leave the revealing and lynching of their opponents to people within communities who feel vulnerable within the system of oppression. That is where you hear things like "The Party says only the guilty try to escape punishment.", where in the idea of running and hiding is cowardly rather than a tone of self-preservation. Oppressors even being police thoughts and isolate people and make people believe that "We must take responsibility for our minds" as revolution begins with a thought and an awakening. They make loving and being loved a privilege that need to be begged for and fought for. " Love is a revolutionary act". There is lots of discussion on floating, flying or more specifically being free, unburdening from the pressures of societal conformity.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to other books by Madeleine.
The story beings with Ai-ming who moves to Canada following the Tiananmen Square Massacre to live with a family friends. As her relationship with the Daughter (of the house) - Marie deepened, Ai-ming begins to recount the events of the last few years including stories of revolutionary attempts that have been passed down in whispers, lest the hand of power hears.
.
In telling her story, we are taking back decades where we are introduced to a group of music students whose dream to perform symphonies was quieted by the roar of communism, leading to them partaking in cultural revolutions. What follows is a tale of courage, revolutionary idealism, music and silence and intimacy. These three students, Violin prodigy Zhuli, brilliant composer Sparrow and enigmatic pianist Kai are at every turn tested to the limits of human endurance as they are forced to choose between their love for the arts and communal survival.
With each scene of intimacy, Madeleine creates a constant looming threat of decimation as the characters grapple with an ever changing technological and political landscape. More importantly, at least to me, is how Madeleine discusses communal betrayal and destruction. The constant fear made people unwilling to support and protect people who were fighting against oppression; it made it really evident that politician rarely ever have to do anything to handpick and kill off policital opposition as they leave the revealing and lynching of their opponents to people within communities who feel vulnerable within the system of oppression. That is where you hear things like "The Party says only the guilty try to escape punishment.", where in the idea of running and hiding is cowardly rather than a tone of self-preservation. Oppressors even being police thoughts and isolate people and make people believe that "We must take responsibility for our minds" as revolution begins with a thought and an awakening. They make loving and being loved a privilege that need to be begged for and fought for. " Love is a revolutionary act". There is lots of discussion on floating, flying or more specifically being free, unburdening from the pressures of societal conformity.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to other books by Madeleine.
mettetta's review
4.0
A nearly perfect book! Beautiful, lyrical wilting, sweeping drama that brings to light events many Americans aren't familiar with. Thien manages to document the events of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in ways that are at once specific to the individual characters and universal.
tara_pikachu's review against another edition
4.0
If someone asked me to think of a particular word that could spawn this book, it would be 'melancholy.' Through and through.
grayjay's review against another edition
5.0
I knew so little about the Cultural Revolution in China that this novel sometimes felt like a dystopian science fiction. It followed a similar structure to many dystopian novels I've read. We are introduced to characters' lives and then read on as society changes violently around them. It is a book about revolutions within revolutions. How can something be counter-revolutionary? Can you start a revolution against the revolution?
At the same time, it is a touching and mournful family epic. I was drawn to consider the relationships between children and parents, between generations. How can we learn to bridge the gap in understanding? How can we learn to forgive our parents' generation for the harm they caused doing what they thought was best? Can our parents forgive us for not fulfilling the lives they fought for us to be able live?
At the same time, it is a touching and mournful family epic. I was drawn to consider the relationships between children and parents, between generations. How can we learn to bridge the gap in understanding? How can we learn to forgive our parents' generation for the harm they caused doing what they thought was best? Can our parents forgive us for not fulfilling the lives they fought for us to be able live?
hongjoongie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
How did a person know, he wondered, what was love and what was a facsimile of it? Did it matter? Was the thing that mattered most the action that one took—or failed to take-in the name of that feeling?
No matter how many lights they shone, they could never take away the darkness. Daylight was blinding, but in the dark he still existed. What did they see, he wondered, his hands still open. Of all the people he had loved and who had loved him, of all the things that he had witnessed, lived and hoped for, of all the music he had created, how much was it possible to see?