With unflinching clarity, Thien examines the strange, frightening psychology of mass violence in this period and how countless lives were lost as a result. Nevertheless, there are many sections of Do Not Say We Have Nothing that show Thien at the height of her abilities. The unsettling cyclical quality of the violence of 20th century China comes to the fore through Thien’s Book of Records as an ingenious trope for all her characters’ lives to swirl around. She gradually narrates these stories to Marie through their conversations about a notebook found among Kai’s belongings after his death. It falls to music, art and literature to salvage fleeting moments of beauty from the ruins of history, the lives of the dead.

Source: National Post May 25, 2016 08:11 UTC