Ling’s aunt and the owner of a bookstore. The Old Cat hosts regular meetings for people who resist the Communist regime and who want to read books that Chairman Mao has tried to forbid. Kai frequents these meetings and he brings Sparrow and Zhuli along with him. The Old Cat is also the one whose shop Swirl frequents when Wen the Dreamer stops sending her chapters of The Book of Record, and Swirl is hoping to find the copies elsewhere. The Old Cat lives until she is over 100 years old.
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Old Cat Character Timeline in Do Not Say We Have Nothing
The timeline below shows where the character Old Cat appears in Do Not Say We Have Nothing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...and she searches all of Shanghai to find it. One day, she goes to the Old Cat ’s bookstore and discovers that someone else, Wen the Dreamer, is also looking for further...
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Swirl goes to the Old Cat ’s bookshop every day but doesn’t find the novel. One day, she meets Wen the...
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Chapter 7
...to the next underground meeting at one of Kai’s friend’s apartments along with Sparrow. The Old Cat greets them warmly, giving Zhuli a big hug. Surprised to see so many books, Zhuli...
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...into battle! Resolutely, thoroughly, totally and completely wipe out all the ghosts and monsters.” The Old Cat says there’s no need to read the article aloud—it’s the same stuff they hear on...
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Zhuli stays behind and keeps talking with the Old Cat and the other members of the group. At first they venture away from the topic...
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...it is still dark. He thinks to himself that Zhuli has gone to see the Old Cat —there would be no other reason for her to leave so early. Before leaving the...
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Coda
...people in the room, including Li-ling; Yiwen and her daughter; and Ai-ming’s great aunt, the Old Cat . Li-ling imagines that Sparrow, Kai, and Zhuli are also present. Hearing the music dedicated...
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