Super Short Summary

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien spans generations, beginning with Big Mother Knife and her sister Swirl struggling to survive during the early years of China's Communist Revolution. Big Mother Knife's son Sparrow and Swirl's daughter Zhuli find solace in music amid the turmoil. As political tensions rise, Zhuli dies by suicide, while Sparrow's life is impacted by further events leading to his eventual death, pushing his daughter Ai-Ming into exile. Ai-Ming finds refuge with Marie, the daughter of a former friend of Sparrow, and relocates to America. The novel explores enduring themes of family, music, and resistance amid oppressive regimes. It includes traumatic events like political persecution, suicide, and the Tiananmen Square protests.