Do Not Say We Have Nothing

A very powerful and moving novel set amidst 20th century China, culminating with the profound events in 1989 at Tiananmen Square.

It’s historically poignant, spanning from the Chinese civil war in 1949 to present day and describes the political and land reforms. However, it was the weaving in of music throughout the pages that really made the novel so beautiful to me - Thien has written with such depth and scope that the characters come to life almost as much as the symphonies they are creating. It’s a lengthy read and jumps through time with a lot of characters and names to remember, but is worth the perseverance once finished.

A few lines:

Was this what music was, was it time itself containing fractions of seconds, minutes, hours, and all the ages, all the generations?

How did a composer live his life unheard? Could music record a time that otherwise left no trace?

Many loves and many selves might exist, but that doesn’t render each variation false.

Beauty leaves it’s imprints on the mind. Throughout history, there have been many moments that can never be recovered, but you and I know that they existed.