"Remarkable . . . vividly captures the urgency of youth and becomes a heart-breaking elegy for
a communal almost utopian approach to urban life." Rumaan Alam author of Leave the World
Behind "Bright with defiance intelligence and stubborn love. To spend time with these
characters is a gift." C Pam Zhang author of How Much of These Hills is Gold In the early
1980s Giselle Chin Jackie Ong and Ellen Ng are three teenagers drawn together by their
shared sense of alienation and desire for something different. "Allied in the weirdest parts of
themselves " they envision each other as artistic collaborators and embark on a future defined
by freedom and creativity. By the time they are adults their dreams are murkier. As a
performance artist Giselle must navigate an elite social world she never conceived of. As a
coder thrilled by the internet's early egalitarian promise Jackie must contend with its more
sinister shift toward monetization and surveillance. And as a community activist Ellen
confronts the increasing gentrification and policing overwhelming her New York City
neighbourhood. Over time their friendship matures and changes their definitions of success
become complicated and their sense of what matters evolves. Moving from the pre-digital 1980s
to the art and tech subcultures of the 1990s to a strikingly imagined portrait of the 2040s
Memory Piece is an innovative and audacious story of three lifelong friends as they strive to
build satisfying lives in a world that turns out to be radically different from the one they
were promised.
