Memory Piece by Lisa Ko review – anxiety hums off the page in dystopian New York story

Three girlhood friends grow into the worlds of art, tech and activism and on towards a divisive, fascist-run nightmare in the American writer’s ambitious follow-up to The Leavers

The first section of Lisa Ko’s novel follows a Chinese-American artist, Giselle Chin, who in 1996 begins a durational work called Memory Piece: she writes down her memories for seven hours a day, for a year – and at the end she burns the lot. But in Memory Piece, the book, the documenting of life becomes something precious and worth preserving.

The novel is itself a kind of archival resource, odd photographs and records interspersed between accounts of the lives of Giselle and her childhood pals Jackie Ong and Ellen Ng. Their friendship develops as the story unfolds, sometimes blooming, sometimes growing thorns, and there is real pleasure in seeing each character through the eyes of the others in turn.

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko is published by Dialogue Books (£18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply