I've always been a very picky reader. As a young child I spent much more time inventing stories in my mind with song, play, and drawing my dreams on paper. I was never a voracious reader of fiction, though the times when I found books that truly spoke to me are memorable. The summer of my eighth grade year was a summer when my house was fairly quiet and I had a decent amount of time to myself. That was the summer I read The Secret Garden and Jubilee, two books I've never forgotten. Throughout the years there were a number of books I loved and read with joy, but in recent times I've been much more focused on short articles, research reports, and informational texts.
Right now however, as my son readies for the college experience, some family members will dive into his expected reading so that we can share in his initial experience of the book and his opportunity to write about and discuss the book with college classmates. The book's title is Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien. It is a book about the intersection of politics and art and the story of three generations of an extended family in China including those who lived through Mao's Cultural Revolution and their children who protested in Tiananmen Square. There are many reasons why this book calls me. First, many of the students I teach are Chinese American. One mother, in particular, comes to mind since she told me the long saga of her early life, a time during Mao's cultural revolution, a time when she learned to read by looking at the newspapers that covered the ceiling. It was a time that she lived with her grandparents who were ostracized from the community for speaking their truth. My Chinese American students represent many different paths of coming to America as well as many different regions of China and varying connections to their homeland today. I know this book will provide me with more information with which to understand this. Further the fact that the book focuses on the intersection of art and politics intrigues me--I ache when I think of the artful potential that exists in society and our often disregard of this wonderful potential--why do we turn away from the arts too often when we know that natural and human-made beauty fills the soul, brings people together, and heightens our humanity. I will be thinking about this question as I read.
I'm interested in how this book will impact and speak to others in my family as well--what truths will they hear, what characters will speak to them. My husband has traveled to China and I'm sure that will impact his view. My son is young and open minded so I'll be interested to hear his ideas.
Many families share stories and reading. It's a good way to come together, share ideas, and look to the future too. It's a long book and will take us some time, but I know it will be a worthy endeavor.