Reviews

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

alexanderjamie's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

An inter-generational saga, starting with the May Fourth generation and ending with the Tiananmen Square generation, covering the period between 1940 and 1989. The story centers around a family of musicians - the bourgeoisie in an emerging communist society - and centers around the relationship between the people and the party. It covers events such as the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre in vivid on the ground detail. I love intergenerational stories which incorporate history and politics and so I really loved this book. The part that takes place in the modern day felt like it could have been better elaborated on - feeling like short intermissions rather than its own part of the story. I’m not a classical music person so I was a bit confused by mentions of Bach and the like. Nonetheless, as a whole, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. 

annrhub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

jayelpr's review against another edition

2.0

I tried to like this book. Unfortunately, I found it very slow to start. Things picked up a bit around 40%, but then trailed off. Madeleine uses lots of characters and different story lines, making it difficult to get into.

I enjoyed some of the characters (Zhuli, Sparrow), and felt for them as we learned of the horrific experiences during the Chinese revolutions.

lisamchuk's review against another edition

5.0

How do I describe this book? This book travels back and forth in time, loosely narrated by Ma-li, covering her youth and adulthood. Ma-li lives in Vancouver Canada, and she starts narrating in 1991. The other characters include her father, and his early life in China during the Cultural Revolution, and a family that includes Big Mother Knife, Swirl, Sparrow, Zhuli and Ai-Ming. Their story goes from World War II until the final climax during the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Like I said, it jumps back and forth through time and character perspective, held together by the flow of music, as many of the characters are classical musicians. This book is, first and foremost, an education in communist China.

And oh boy was it good! Finally I got around to reading a well written book! As it should be, Thien won all the prizes and awards in 2016! The prose is so...lyrical - mostly because it's centred around music, but also because of the Chinese influence of vocabulary and characters. I really enjoyed the journey. Some people may find it disjointed and hard to keep the characters straight, but I didn't. Even though it flip flopped, it flowed, like it was held together as a symphony.

I'm a big fan of Jan Wong' China series, so I know a bit about communist China, and nothing that happened was shocking to me, but still, very sad and just crazy that the government did what they did to the people, to the culture, to multiple generations. It really reminded me of the intergenerational trauma that is talked about in Indigenous writing. Though a bit of a heavy summer read, this was an excellent books and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about China's recent history, anyone who likes classical music, and anyone who needs a break from bad writing, and Thien is certainly a wordsmith!

katiesd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

asiia95's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Мені сподобалась книга. Вона важка, її за вечір не прочитаєш, тому що потрібно зупинятися і думати, дихати, відпускати емоції.
Я плакала, коли дочитала 😭 в цій книзі стільки болю, але ще більше надії. Люди продовжували та продовжують жити, йти вперед і вперед. Починати з початку. Втрачати. Відновлюватися. Ховатися. Любити. Радувати світу музику і плакати глибоко в душі.
Мені здається, що найстійкіші люди Велика мама Ніж, Вихор, Вень мрійник, Стара Кішка. Ті, хто бачили ще імператора. Ті, які загартовані вільним дитинством, відносним спокоєм, кого не ламали з дитинства. 
Це історія поколінь, які втрачали, здобували, знову втрачали, але збиралися та йшли далі, бо за кожною горою є море, за кожною темною ніччю - світанок 

tpl's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

jenn_nguyen's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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 against another edition

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.