There are four main eras that the novel focuses on, though they do not necessarily occur in chronological order. These sub-plots are set during a tumultuous period in China's history, from the beginning of Mao Zedong's reign in the late 1940s to the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The novel quickly fractures into a number of different sub-plots, introduced by Ai-Ming, which span generations of both Marie and Ai-Ming's families, who are later revealed to be intrinsically connected. The year is 1991, and the addition to their household of a Chinese refugee fleeing the post-Tiananmen Square crackdown, Ai-Ming, is the catalyst that sets the rest of the plot into motion. The novel begins with a girl named Marie living with her mother in Vancouver, Canada. It was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize as well as the Women's Prize for Fiction. Critically acclaimed, in 2016 the author was awarded both the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award for this novel. It follows a 10-year-old girl and her mother who invite a Chinese refugee into their home. Do Not Say We Have Nothing is a novel by Madeleine Thien published in 2016 in Canada.
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