These Memories Do Not Belong to Us

A Constellation Novel

De: Yiming Ma

Narrado por: Will Dao, Jeremy Ang Jones, David Shih, Cindy Kay, Brian Nishii, Jeanne Sakata, Catherine Ho, Francois Chau, Eunice Wong, Kenneth Lee, Reuben Uy, Sura Siu, James Chen, Jennifer Lim

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.

After the sudden passing of his mother, an unnamed narrator inherits a collection of banned memories from her Mindbank so dangerous that even possessing them places his freedom in jeopardy. Traversing genres, empires, and millennia, they are tales of sumo wrestlers and social activists and armless swimmers and watchmakers, struggling amid the backdrop of Qin’s ascent toward global dominance. Determined to release his mother's memories to the world before they are destroyed forever, the narrator will risk everything—even if the cost is his own life.

Powerful and provocative, These Memories Do Not Belong to Us masterfully explores how governments and media manipulate history to control the collective imagination. It forces us to see beyond the sheen of convenient truths and to unearth real stories of sacrifice and love that refuse to be eradicated.

©2025 Yiming Ma (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

Astounding! Even better than the printed book.

I often choose the audio version of a book because it’s more convenient. I can listen while commuting or multitasking. This time, however, I chose the audio version of These Memories Do Not Belong to us so that I could savor each chapter. I listened to it slowly over a couple of weeks. I gained nuance and insights that I had missed in my first reading of the book when it came out in print. The cast that has been assembled to bring this book to life truly do a remarkable job.

I recommend this audiobook quite highly!

Connecting the dots through time!

Yiming Ma’s debut is mesmerizing! Jumping through carefully crafted vignettes we get to learn about a dystopian future through the eyes and memories of connected individuals. I enjoyed the ride as designed and will be interested to pick up new details and connections when I read it back through in a different order (as suggested by the narrator)!