The Situation: In a distant future, the Qin empire is in power after a long war and the outbreak of the deadly Chrysanthemum Virus, and every citizen has been outfitted with a Mindbank, a device that allows memories to be stored, shared, and deleted. When a nameless narrator inherits his mother's Mindbank following her death, he makes a surprising, and also terrifying discovery. In her Mindbank are many memories that have been banned by the Qin authorities. By having her son inherit them, she has put his freedom, possibly even his life, in danger. While he believes he will eventually be apprehended, he holds onto his mother's memories anyway, and shares them with the reader.
The Problem: The collection of memories - which are sorted into three categories, Before the War, The War, and After the War - take place in various lands, spanning decades, with both female and male narrators and protagonists. There even seems to be a common thread as certain people show up in more than one memory, or their story is referenced as part of an important event in Qin history. Regardless, despite what the narrator is able to learn about his mother, as well as government he serves, he knows he is in danger, and is not sure if he wishes to simply wait for the inevitable punishment; embrace it by coming forward; or perhaps, attempt to share what he has with the world.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction novel set in a distant future, and after a war that has allowed the Qin empire to take over and redefine the world as we know it. Thoughts and memories can now be monitored as every citizen has a Mindbank, allowing all memories to be shared. In the stories that take place before the war, Mindbanks are only available to the wealthy, with artists and storytellers already lamenting the all but certain disappearance of books and movies. While there is a story and timeline to follow, the format of the book more closely resembles a collection of short stories, especially as they do not appear in chronological order.
My Verdict: Any premise that deals with the manipulation of thoughts and memory is always immediately interesting to me. And with every big tech and social media company out there after both our money and our information, the idea of a Mindbank is not that far off. Truly, my only real lament about this book is that the stories do not appear in sequential order of when they took place. Even the three provided headings of Before the War, The War, and After the War are not that helpful in placing events when they actually occurred, at least not for me. The ideas presented are interesting and thought-provoking, even if the ending is a bit on the nose.
Favorite Moment: There are several moments when a character must comes to terms with the fact that they are not much better at navigating this world than anyone else.
Favorite Story: "86 Shanghai" is the story of a Chinese immigrant living in New York City, who can only call his family back in China once a month. The details of his life, what he must do to survive and eventually have his family join him, and the progression into the future, are all incredibly well thought out and intriguing to read.
Recommended Reading: 1984 by George Orwell came to mind many times while reading this book.
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