Ysabelle Cheung, a Hong Kong-based writer and gallerist, has published her debut short story collection *Patchwork Dolls*. The book contains ten speculative fiction stories exploring themes of inherited ritual, ecological unease, diaspora, and bodily transformation. Set across Hong Kong and North America, the narratives employ second-person perspectives and experimental structures, including a choose-your-own-adventure tale about vanishing books and a story where an app tracks a dead twin's ghost. The collection examines how technology enables new forms of consumption and cannibalization, both literal and metaphorical, while food and memory anchor the characters' experiences of dislocation and haunting.
This review matters because it highlights a significant literary debut from an art-world figure—Cheung is both a gallerist and writer—whose work bridges visual art, speculative fiction, and cultural commentary. The collection's focus on identity, migration, and the ethics of emerging technologies resonates with contemporary art discourse around the body, surveillance, and posthumanism. Published in ArtReview Asia, the review positions Cheung's book within broader conversations about how art and literature interrogate what makes us human in an era of ecological and technological upheaval.