Book of Records

Thien (Do Not Say We Have Nothing) delivers a stimulating if diffuse novel about migration and storytelling. It takes place in a magical realm called The Sea, where time and space seem to have collapsed. Lina, 7, and her father arrive here as refugees from their home city of Foshan in what was once China, and encounter fellow displaced people from around the world. As they wait for the rest of their family to join them, Lina and her father reread the three books they fled with—children’s biographies of poet Du Fu, philosopher Baruch Spinoza, and historian Hannah Arendt. At 10, Lina meets their neighbors Jupiter, Bento, and Blucher, who know an uncanny amount about Du, Spinoza, and Arendt, and hail from those three thinkers’ respective times and places. Thien alternates Lina’s story with lengthy biographical passages devoted to the three historical figures. In the present, Lina, her father, and their new friends pass their days discussing history and philosophy, sharing stories, and searching for meaning (“What we call now has no solidity,” claims the Arendt-like Blucher, prompting Lina’s father to respond, “Maybe imagination is a way to find that place”). Thien hints intriguingly at deeper themes of grief and interconnection, but they’re left underdeveloped. There’s much here to admire, but it doesn’t quite hang together. (May)