These Memories Do Not Belong to Us

For fans of Cloud Atlas and The Power, a hauntingly beautiful and prescient debut set in a future where a renamed China is the sole global superpower.When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me stories of a world before memories could be shared between strangers…In a far-off future ruled by the Qin Empire, every citizen is fitted with a Mindbank, an intracranial device capable of recording and transmitting memories between minds. This technology gives birth to Memory Capitalism, where anyone with means can relive the life experiences of others. It also unleashes opportunities for manipulation: memories can be edited, marketed, and even corrupted for personal gain.

“A chilling dystopian novel in stories... Ma bravely and lucidly portrays how an authoritarian regime seeks to control people’s minds, and how people’s lives can be commodified by technology. This timely work leaves readers with much to chew on.”  — Publishers Weekly

“This novel-in-stories, set in a dystopian future in which memories can be downloaded from one mind to another, asks provocative questions about narrative, humanity, and love…The premise of Ma’s debut novel provides ample opportunity for both metafictional playfulness and deadly serious commentary on our fraught relationship with technology.” — Booklist (starred review)

“A slim and powerful speculative novel about what happens when memories are taken from us and given to everyone. Ma is a brilliant mind with a shining voice. His writing is spellbinding, and his plot and characters are innovative and engaging. Reading it was reminiscent of the first time I read Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life. It made me believe that books can change my brain’s chemistry.” — Debutiful

"Yiming Ma’s stunning debut is deeply imaginative in its portrayal of a near-future dystopia, and profoundly humane in its exploration of memory and the stories that make us who we are.”
— Vincent Lam, Giller Prize-winning author of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures