Do Not Say We Have NothingDo Not Say We Have Nothing
Score Modern
What it's about
'In a single year, my father left us twice.' Madeleine Thien takes us inside an extended family in China across two generations: those who lived through Mao's Cultural Revolution, and their children, who became the students protesting in Tiananmen Square. At its center are two young women, Marie, in Canada, and Ai-Ming, who arrives from China.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for both the Booker Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction. It's a profound novel about music, memory and history.
You'll love it if you liked
The Kite Runner
Pachinko
A Fine BalanceGood to know
It's long and layered, with stories within stories. Music is central to it.
By the numbers
- Readers55 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics49 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller14 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz5 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #148 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #674 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1269 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
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Quick answers
Is Do Not Say We Have Nothing worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for both the Booker Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction. It ranks #1,269 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 70.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Do Not Say We Have Nothing about?
'In a single year, my father left us twice.' Madeleine Thien takes us inside an extended family in China across two generations: those who lived through Mao's Cultural Revolution, and their children, who became the students protesting in Tiananmen Square. At its center are two young women, Marie, in Canada, and Ai-Ming, who arrives from China.
How long does it take to read Do Not Say We Have Nothing?
About 12 hours (491 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Do Not Say We Have Nothing?
If you liked it, try The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee or A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.