'A moving and extraordinary evocation of the 20th-century tragedy of China... compelling'
Guardian SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION AND THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE In
Canada in 1991 ten-year-old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home. Ai- Ming has
fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests. As her relationship with Marie
deepens Ai-Ming tells the story of her family in revolutionary China from the crowded
teahouses in the first days of Chairman Mao's ascent to the Beijing demonstrations of 1989. And
she speaks of three musicians - the shy and brilliant composer Sparrow the violin prodigy
Zhuli and the enigmatic pianist Kai - who struggled during China's relentless Cultural
Revolution to remain loyal to one another and to the music they have devoted their lives to.
Their fates reverberate through the years with deep and lasting consequences for Ai-Ming - and
for Marie. Do Not Say We Have Nothing magnificently brings to life one of the most
significant political regimes of the 20th century and its traumatic legacy. 'A magnificent
epic of Chinese history richly detailed and beautifully written' Kate Saunders The Times
