The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien

In The Book of Records, Madeleine Thien crafts a hauntingly original, intellectual and ambitious novel that fuses speculative fiction with historical reflection and philosophical inquiry.

This is a work of vast scope and quiet intimacy, set in a space called The Sea—a strange, dreamlike enclave where the borders of time blur and past, present, and future converge as though separated only by the thinnest of veils.

At the novel’s heart is Lina, a young woman who arrives at The Sea with her ailing father, fleeing a flooded future version of the Pearl River Delta. They carry with them little more than memory, grief, and three books—volumes from a fictionalised encyclopedia of explorers. The Sea itself functions as both sanctuary and purgatory, where displaced people from across history and time gather before journeying onwards. Among Lina’s neighbours are Bento, a Jewish thinker from 17th-century Amsterdam; Blücher, a German philosopher escaping Nazi persecution in the 1930s; and Jupiter, a poet from Tang Dynasty China. As Lina forms relationships with these enigmatic figures, she learns not only of their pasts but of her own family’s hidden history and her father’s role in its tragic unfolding.

Thien’s storytelling is structurally complex but rewarding, employing a series of interwoven narratives and philosophical vignettes. Her prose is lyrical, precise, and often breathtaking in its subtlety. Themes of forced migration, identity, historical responsibility, and redemption echo throughout the novel. In many ways, The Book of Records feels like a meditation on the nature of storytelling itself—how the stories we tell, carry, and inherit can either anchor or liberate us.

The novel’s most powerful moments arise in the tender, often painful, depictions of the father-daughter relationship at its centre. Thien captures with great sensitivity the emotional weight of intergenerational trauma and the burden of inherited guilt. These human moments ground the more abstract philosophical passages, which, while richly thought-provoking, may prove challenging for some readers. Quotations from Arendt, Spinoza, and others are embedded throughout the narrative, sometimes illuminating, sometimes elusive.

Admittedly, the novel’s ambitious layering of time periods and ideas demands a patient and attentive reader. Some may find the shifting perspectives disorienting, especially as characters adopt different names in The Sea than in their historical lives. The interspersed stories from history—though carefully researched and often compelling—can disrupt narrative momentum, and those unfamiliar with philosophical discourse may find certain sections dense or opaque.

Still, The Book of Records is undeniably a masterful literary achievement. Thien has crafted a novel that is as emotionally resonant as it is intellectual and daring. Its exploration of exile, memory, and the longing for home feels both timely and timeless. For readers willing to surrender to its rhythms, The Book of Records offers not only a moving narrative but also a deeply philosophical journey into the meaning of humanity across ages.

This is a novel that rewards close reading and thoughtful reflection—a likely contender for major literary awards and a compelling addition to Thien’s already distinguished body of work.

Reviewer: Chris Reed

Allen & Unwin