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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I would have a difficult time trying to tell someone what this book is about. There are so many characters and situations that you are never sure whose memories you are reliving or if they are true memories at all. The bigger story here though is the message we are given about lives, memories, relationships and our never ending battle with the truth. The concept of the memory banks is all to real and all too terrifying. I was deeply immersed in this book and highly recommend it.
slow-paced
An intriguing and layered exploration of memory, ownership, and the subtle encroachments of technology. What drew me in was the concept—how the book imagines a near-future where memories can be shared, stored, and even owned. While I had hoped for a deeper dive into the tech itself, what I found instead was a series of intimate vignettes that orbit around this premise. These stories raise important questions about privacy and control without ever becoming heavy-handed.
It reads more like a collection of interconnected short stories than a traditional novel, with the technology as the connective tissue rather than the focal point. If you’re someone who enjoys speculative fiction that leans literary, especially with a human-centered lens, this one’s worth checking out.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
emotional
slow-paced
This is kind of like a bunch of short stories coming together. The stories come from Mindbank, a collection of memories, and those memories are from other people. You can learn lessons from them. Theyre quite interesting. I did enjoy some of the memories and some were quite sad. It does come together, but I was a bit bored and didn't know where the story was going to go.
Thank you to Netgalley and the piblishers for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the piblishers for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Thank you to netGalley and HarperAudio for the eARC!
These Memories Do Not Belong to Us is an anthology like book where we explore the forbidden narratives kept by the narrator's mother as her inheritance to her son. Even though the audio carries through the narrative as it was formatted, I can see how people could easily choose a different arrangement of the stories to see it in a new light.
I really enjoyed the wide expanse of narrators throughout the book, and each story was so immersive on their own, it felt sad to leave them behind to go onto the next. The stories themselves had a range of meanings to them, from censorship, hope, perseverance, and what it means to be a person in a rapidly changing world. I especially enjoyed when I could see (er, hear) tidbits from the other narratives influencing each other, or being noticed by the narrative, giving it a connecting flow and sense of time.
It's best to think of this book a little more abstractly, and it leaves the interpretation purely up to the reader, which makes this a book I'd like to read over and over again.
These Memories Do Not Belong to Us is an anthology like book where we explore the forbidden narratives kept by the narrator's mother as her inheritance to her son. Even though the audio carries through the narrative as it was formatted, I can see how people could easily choose a different arrangement of the stories to see it in a new light.
I really enjoyed the wide expanse of narrators throughout the book, and each story was so immersive on their own, it felt sad to leave them behind to go onto the next. The stories themselves had a range of meanings to them, from censorship, hope, perseverance, and what it means to be a person in a rapidly changing world. I especially enjoyed when I could see (er, hear) tidbits from the other narratives influencing each other, or being noticed by the narrative, giving it a connecting flow and sense of time.
It's best to think of this book a little more abstractly, and it leaves the interpretation purely up to the reader, which makes this a book I'd like to read over and over again.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is set in a dystopian future where every citizen is equipped with a "Mindbank" that controls their memories. China is the victor of a war and now controls the U.S. There is no back story as the book is told in random memory vignettes.
There was nothing wrong with the book - it just wasn't my type of book.
In a future dominated by the Qin Empire, the Mindbank technology allows for memories to be recorded and transferred, so you can experience the memories of others. This turns memories into a commodity, so they can be bought, sold, and traded. They can also be edited, erased, and banned, which is part of how the Qin Empire maintains their control. A man inherits his mother's memories, which includes many banned ones. He knows when the government censors catch up with him, he will likely be killed.
The bulk of the book is made up of these banned memories. The author calls this a constellation novel, and the memories can be read in any order. The various memories include: a diplomat's son who plays chess with an orphan, a writer who befriends a watchmaker, an armless swimmer who competes for the country, a mother who cooks a pot of stew for her sumo wrestler son. Each memory was an engrossing story in itself, but also raised larger questions: why was this memory saved? why was it banned? how do they connect to each other? I really loved this one, minus the author's slightly heavy-handed message at the end. The memories themselves were rather subtle, and I wanted more subtlety in how it wrapped up as well.
The bulk of the book is made up of these banned memories. The author calls this a constellation novel, and the memories can be read in any order. The various memories include: a diplomat's son who plays chess with an orphan, a writer who befriends a watchmaker, an armless swimmer who competes for the country, a mother who cooks a pot of stew for her sumo wrestler son. Each memory was an engrossing story in itself, but also raised larger questions: why was this memory saved? why was it banned? how do they connect to each other? I really loved this one, minus the author's slightly heavy-handed message at the end. The memories themselves were rather subtle, and I wanted more subtlety in how it wrapped up as well.
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. All the thoughts below are entirely my own.
The premise of a world where our memories aren't even our own was truly fascinating to me!! That concept of the memory bank and how it could be used for good or evil was interesting to read about. This is a book that leaves you thinking!! I will say there is a lot of jumping around in time and in writing structure, which could lead to a confusing reading experience for some people. Overall, though, I think the social commentary on surveillance states and living under fascism comes across loud and clear throughout the entire novel!!
I want to add that I really enjoyed the multiple narrators for the audiobook; they brought this story to life.
The premise of a world where our memories aren't even our own was truly fascinating to me!! That concept of the memory bank and how it could be used for good or evil was interesting to read about. This is a book that leaves you thinking!! I will say there is a lot of jumping around in time and in writing structure, which could lead to a confusing reading experience for some people. Overall, though, I think the social commentary on surveillance states and living under fascism comes across loud and clear throughout the entire novel!!
I want to add that I really enjoyed the multiple narrators for the audiobook; they brought this story to life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism