Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Do Not Say We Have Nothing

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

27 reviews

reflectiverambling_nalana's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A love letter to Chinese languages, storytelling, to their history, to classical music, and family blood and found. A hard hitting read about difficult times and the paths we take to, in the words of one character carve the "life (you) can live with" in the course of survival. Gives a great perspective on the flow of modern history from the eyes if citizens caught in the maelstrom and the search to find their lost narrative.

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_abii__'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Do Not Say We Have Nothing is a story about two families who despite being physically separated, are intimately connected to each other. It’s a book about how the political climate of a country can break or make a person, but that, in the end, we come back to the things that have always given us comfort.

It’s clear to me that the author appreciates music deeply, the way music is described in these pages is unreal. I had never seen music come alive this way before, music moves the narrative and mirrors our characters struggles not only within themselves but with the society they are inserted in.

The novel is set in two different timelines, the 50’s-60’s and the 90’s-2000’s. I’ve found really interesting how China’s political stances are explored in both timelines.

“How easy it was to mistake your brother for a traitor or your beloved for an enemy, to fear that you yourself were born in the wrong moment of history. ”

This is a historical novel that sets to explore how Chairman Mao’s government affected the people of China and later on why people started rioting. I wish I had more knowledge about this period in China, maybe the novel would have made more sense to me and perhaps the language would not have seemed so dull at times. The author goes into great detail in how the lives of simple people would have been during that time. The famine, the torture, the “distribution of wealth” is heavily explored in this book.

It is an interesting topic however I think the language could’ve been more accessible and maybe less information would’ve led to a more cohesive story with less filler sentences.

At times it felt as if I was rereading the book due to how repetitive it got because the two timelines the novel explores are so interconnected and it’s basically history repeating itself.

One thing I think it was done well was how the characters were afraid to speak up, that seems the logical thing to do in an authoritarian regime. If the characters were suddenly speaking against the government freely it would’ve been incoherent given the time. However, the book addresses the issues without compromising the characters (the ones that aren’t tortured anyway) while still making a clear social commentary.

“I felt she saw into me, past every facade and flourish, and that the more she knew me, the more she loved me. I was too young, then, to know how lasting this kind of love is, how rarely it comes into one’s life, how difficult it is to accept oneself, let alone another. I carried this security—Ai-ming’s love, the love of an older sister—out of my childhood and into my adult life.”

One of the high points of the book is the relationships between the characters, the deep love they feel for each other, whether familiar, platonic or romantic. We see how these characters evolve in each other’s influence and how some people shape our lives.

There are a lot of characters in this book and maybe some people can’t connect with most of them because of their multitude, but I’d argue that is the point. In a communist China you’d have to hide yourself a lot of the times, not speak aloud and follow what the Party said. In a way I feel as if the characters’ inner monologue is exactly that, them convincing themselves and the reader that they are loyal to their country, which translates to being loyal to the Party, even in thoughts.

“Why is it that we can’t choose our own jobs? What right does the government have to keep a private file on me? (…) What illegal thoughts. The ones who should die…But actually, why should anyone’s thoughts be illegal?”

I think this book would benefit from a reread, it feels to me that if I knew what was going to happen I would’ve enjoyed my reading experience a bit more. I love how literature and music are so interconnected in the story and although it has a bit of filler it’s an enjoyable read (especially the second part).

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carmentxx's review

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

wow. what a book. a sweeping scope of recent chinese history. don’t get me wrong, it’s really long. it’s hard to get through. but my god, the mystical dream like writing is so reminiscent of how traumatising it must have been to live through years and years of systematic gaslighting oppression. it’s a very special book.

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kaitoro_walker13's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An incredible book of a massive scale, this book is a joy to read, and I would fully recommend it.

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ra22ouille's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Profound and lasting. I havent been able to stop thinking about it. The book began with one woman's devastation stemming from family tragedy. From this the book circles outward into a web of people whose lives weave through the woman's narrative both during and outside of her time.

I knew what the destination was for some of our characters very early on, and it was devastating to know it, and painful to read on at times knowing where it would lead. The way the book weaved in and out of that understanding and made me both long for the completion and fear the story running out—it was incredible.

The structure extended themes of cyclical histories, art as atemporal connection, and separation (of people from each other, from themselves, emotionally, physically, through death. Specifically through and beyond the cultural revolution). It was masterfully constructed.

So much respect for this book and author. Highly recommend!!!

Content Warnings