Publication Date: February 10th, 2026
Paperback. 212 pages.
Set in Hong Kong and America—between the present day and an uncannily altered future—this story collection warps the familiar rules of our world to what does it mean to be Asian and a woman—living under the specter of state and technological surveillance—or trying to break free from it?
In the title story, a young woman of color realizes she can make her fortune by surgically selling her facial features to whiter, wealthier clients. In “Please, Get Out and Dance,” a group of rebels escapes a city that is literally disappearing around them—building by building, person by person—to migrate to a new home beneath the ocean, defying their government’s mandate. “Herbs” follows an elderly widow who, when the clones of her dead husband start to appear uninvited in her home, must grapple with her memories.
In each of these stories, Cheung tilts the world just slightly off its axis to bring together a haunting meditation on what it means to survive within our increasingly digitized and mechanized world."
Patchwork Dolls is a fascinating collection of stories. It’s one of those collections that’s filled with ideas that will continue to linger long after you’ve finished reading it. It’s eerie and exceedingly weird--weird being used in a good, positive way here--and incredibly thought-provoking and contemplative in tone. These are stories that you will want to sit with and play around with in your head, and they will most assuredly leave you feeling a little bit unsettled while doing so.
The stories in this collection are set across Hong Kong and New York and seem to meld bits of body horror and magical realism, as well as some dystopian qualities, in ways that feel both intimate and unsettling. Cheung really centers her stories around themes of Asian womanhood and women’s bodies, such as how they are viewed, controlled and treated, as well as identity and how women move throughout the world. She explores these ideas through some truly strange and creative avenues that at times made it hard for me to read them, but at the same time hard to look away from. A few stories that stood out to me were:
“Mycomorphosis”: I have a very real, very strong aversion to mushrooms (I know, I’m sorry!), so this one felt truly horrific to me! That being said, I was still somehow completely hooked despite being unbelievably squicked out and desperate to not see what was written on the page. It’s visceral, disturbing, and incredibly effective at getting under your skin, and the thought behind it was equally intriguing.
“The Reader”: This was a really clever and invented “choose your own adventure” style of story that was really creatively done and exceedingly though-provoking as I worked my way through different directions in the story (because yes, I am definitely the person who tries out different paths--other people do this, right?).
“Patchwork Dolls”: This titular story was adequately chosen for the collection title and was completely captivating. It was such a fascinating and generally horrific concept that I couldn’t look away from or stop thinking about. I think it also reflects the entire collection pretty well in how it highlights and zeroes in on some discomfort with uncomfortable topics and the emotional unease that was stitched into the more speculative fiction background that is still grounded in our own reality.
Every story brought something unique to the table, and even when stories didn’t particularly click with me, I still found myself generally interested in the ideas Cheung chose to play with and explore. I will always be someone that prefers authors to explore new ideas and take chances with varying levels of execution over authors that maybe just do the exact same thing without testing new ideas.
Overall, this isn’t a comfortable read, but it’s a very compelling one. If you enjoy your stories a bit uncanny (meaning: very weird) and extraordinarily thought-provoking, then Patchwork Dolls should absolutely be your next read.
