How Madeleine Thien Organizes Her Bookshelves, Among Other Things

Madeleine Thien, a Canadian author born in 1974, has been writing most of her works by hand since turning fifty. This change was initially due to a medical condition causing severe pain when typing, which made it difficult to use her left hand. Despite fears of losing her ability to write, she discovered that handwriting was pain-free. Over the past few years, she has written every short story, essay, and her most recent novel entirely by hand. While she is learning to manage the pain to occasionally use a keyboard, handwriting has become a therapeutic and creative choice. It allows her to step away from screens, feel more connected to the physical act of writing, and create more breathing space for the characters in her novels. This shift has also influenced her writing style, making it feel more deliberate and immersive.

Madeleine Thien cites Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino as a book she wishes she had read when she was young. Published in 1972, this novel is a poetic and philosophical exploration of imaginary cities described by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan. The book is structured as a series of poetic vignettes that blend reality and fantasy, offering reflections on memory, perception, and the nature of human experience. Thien reflects on how reading Invisible Cities at 14 might have helped her navigate the overwhelming emotions of youth, such as fear and wonder about adulthood. The novel has served as a personal touchstone for her, shaping her understanding of states of mind and the vast, complex conditions of life. Calvino, an Italian writer (1923–1985), is known for his experimental and imaginative storytelling.

Early in her career, Madeleine Thien received writing advice that stayed with her as a formative experience. When she was in her mid-twenties, a publishing professional showed her a proposed book cover featuring an empress in elaborate robes and suggested she write a novel to match the design. Though Thien disagreed with the disconnect between the cover and her work, she initially laughed it off. However, the incident left her with a lasting impression about the commercial pressures in publishing. This experience motivated her to write books that defy easy categorization and resist being shaped by market expectations. She aimed to create novels that could not be easily labeled or predicted, both by others and by herself. This principle has guided her writing ever since.

Madeleine Thien organizes her bookshelves by grouping books based on the approximate year their authors were born, rather than by genre or language. This method mixes philosophy, history, art, fiction, poetry, and works in English and French, including translations. Her bookshelves function as a collective timeline, reflecting the intellectual and artistic movements of different eras. This approach highlights how certain questions and themes persist across centuries, regardless of the specific discipline or time period. By blending these categories, she creates a visual and intellectual map of how ideas evolve and interconnect over time, emphasizing continuity and shared human concerns.