diff --git a/libs/isograph-react/src/core/IsographEnvironment.ts b/libs/isograph-react/src/core/IsographEnvironment.ts
index 0f2b2199d..d90907d50 100644
--- a/libs/isograph-react/src/core/IsographEnvironment.ts
+++ b/libs/isograph-react/src/core/IsographEnvironment.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from './FragmentReference';
 import { RetainedQuery } from './garbageCollection';
 import { LogFunction, WrappedLogFunction } from './logging';
+import { createOptimisticProxy, type OptimisticLayer } from './optimisticProxy';
 import { PromiseWrapper, wrapPromise } from './PromiseWrapper';
 import { WithEncounteredRecords } from './read';
 import type { ReaderAst, StartUpdate } from './reader';
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ export type CacheMap<T> = { [index: string]: ParentCache<T> };
 
 export type IsographEnvironment = {
   readonly store: IsographStore;
+  readonly optimisticLayer: OptimisticLayer;
+  readonly optimisticStore: OptimisticLayer;
   readonly networkFunction: IsographNetworkFunction;
   readonly missingFieldHandler: MissingFieldHandler | null;
   readonly componentCache: FieldCache<React.FC<any>>;
@@ -134,8 +137,11 @@ export function createIsographEnvironment(
   logFunction?.({
     kind: 'EnvironmentCreated',
   });
+  let optimisticLayer: OptimisticLayer = {};
   return {
     store,
+    optimisticLayer,
+    optimisticStore: createOptimisticProxy(store, optimisticLayer),
     networkFunction,
     missingFieldHandler: missingFieldHandler ?? null,
     componentCache: {},
diff --git a/libs/isograph-react/src/core/optimisticProxy.ts b/libs/isograph-react/src/core/optimisticProxy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c3366a0dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/isograph-react/src/core/optimisticProxy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+import type {
+  DataId,
+  IsographEnvironment,
+  IsographStore,
+  StoreRecord,
+  TypeName,
+} from './IsographEnvironment';
+
+function createLayerProxy<T>(
+  object: {
+    [key: string]: T | null;
+  },
+  optimisticObject: {
+    [key: string]: T | null;
+  },
+  getter: (
+    value: T | null | undefined,
+    optimisticValue: T | undefined,
+    p: string,
+  ) => T | null | undefined,
+): {
+  [key: string]: T | null;
+} {
+  return new Proxy(optimisticObject, {
+    get(target, p: string) {
+      let optimisticValue = target[p];
+
+      if (optimisticValue === null) {
+        return optimisticValue;
+      }
+
+      const value = object[p];
+
+      if (optimisticValue === undefined && value == null) {
+        return value;
+      }
+
+      return getter(value, optimisticValue, p);
+    },
+    has(target, p) {
+      return Reflect.has(target, p) || Reflect.has(object, p);
+    },
+    ownKeys(target) {
+      const merged = {
+        ...object,
+        ...target,
+      };
+      return Reflect.ownKeys(merged);
+    },
+    set(target, p: string, value: any) {
+      return Reflect.set(target, p, value);
+    },
+    getOwnPropertyDescriptor(target, p: string) {
+      return (
+        Reflect.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(target, p) ??
+        Reflect.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(object, p)
+      );
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+export function createOptimisticProxy(
+  store: IsographStore,
+  optimisticLayer: OptimisticLayer,
+): OptimisticLayer {
+  return createLayerProxy(
+    store,
+    optimisticLayer,
+    (recordsById, optimisticRecordsById, p) => {
+      optimisticRecordsById = optimisticLayer[p] ??= {};
+      return createLayerProxy(
+        recordsById ?? {},
+        optimisticRecordsById,
+        (storeRecord, optimisticStoreRecord, p) => {
+          optimisticStoreRecord = optimisticRecordsById[p] ??= {};
+          return createLayerProxy(
+            storeRecord ?? {},
+            optimisticStoreRecord,
+            (value, optimisticValue) =>
+              optimisticValue === undefined ? value : optimisticValue,
+          );
+        },
+      );
+    },
+  );
+}
+
+export type OptimisticLayer = {
+  [index: TypeName]: {
+    [index: DataId]: StoreRecord | null;
+  } | null;
+};
+
+export function mergeOptimisticLayer(environment: IsographEnvironment): void {
+  for (const [typeName, patchById] of Object.entries(
+    environment.optimisticLayer,
+  )) {
+    let recordById = environment.store[typeName];
+
+    if (patchById === null) {
+      environment.store[typeName] = null;
+      continue;
+    }
+    recordById = environment.store[typeName] ??= {};
+
+    for (const [recordId, patch] of Object.entries(patchById)) {
+      const data = recordById[recordId];
+
+      if (patch == null || data == null) {
+        recordById[recordId] = patch;
+      } else {
+        Object.assign(data, patch);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  resetOptimisticLayer(environment);
+}
+
+export function resetOptimisticLayer(environment: IsographEnvironment) {
+  for (const key in environment.optimisticLayer) {
+    delete environment.optimisticLayer[key];
+  }
+}
diff --git a/libs/isograph-react/src/tests/optimisticProxy.test.ts b/libs/isograph-react/src/tests/optimisticProxy.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1de2e0f66
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/isograph-react/src/tests/optimisticProxy.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, test, vi } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  createIsographEnvironment,
+  type IsographStore,
+} from '../core/IsographEnvironment';
+import { mergeOptimisticLayer } from '../core/optimisticProxy';
+
+describe('optimisticProxy', () => {
+  let environment: ReturnType<typeof createIsographEnvironment>;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    const store: IsographStore = {
+      Query: {
+        __ROOT: {},
+      },
+      Economist: {
+        0: {
+          __typename: 'Economist',
+          id: '0',
+          name: 'Jeremy Bentham',
+        },
+      },
+    };
+    const networkFunction = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockRejectedValue(new Error('Fetch failed'));
+    environment = createIsographEnvironment(store, networkFunction);
+  });
+
+  test('is equal to store', () => {
+    expect(environment.optimisticStore.Economist?.[0]).toStrictEqual({
+      __typename: 'Economist',
+      id: '0',
+      name: 'Jeremy Bentham',
+    });
+  });
+
+  test('writes update proxy', () => {
+    environment.optimisticStore.Economist![0]!.name = 'Updated Jeremy Bentham';
+
+    expect(environment.optimisticStore.Economist![0]).toStrictEqual({
+      __typename: 'Economist',
+      id: '0',
+      name: 'Updated Jeremy Bentham',
+    });
+  });
+
+  test('writes update optimistic layer', () => {
+    environment.optimisticStore.Economist![0]!.name = 'Updated Jeremy Bentham';
+
+    expect(environment.optimisticLayer).toStrictEqual({
+      Economist: {
+        0: { name: 'Updated Jeremy Bentham' },
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test('writes keep store intact', () => {
+    environment.optimisticStore.Economist![0]!.name = 'Updated Jeremy Bentham';
+
+    expect(environment.store.Economist?.[0]).toStrictEqual({
+      __typename: 'Economist',
+      id: '0',
+      name: 'Jeremy Bentham',
+    });
+  });
+
+  test('reads from optimistic layer if record is undefined', () => {
+    environment.optimisticLayer.Economist = {
+      1: {
+        __typename: 'Economist',
+        id: '1',
+        name: 'John Stuart Mill',
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(environment.optimisticStore.Economist![1]).toStrictEqual({
+      __typename: 'Economist',
+      id: '1',
+      name: 'John Stuart Mill',
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('mergeOptimisticLayer', () => {
+    test('merges optimistic layer with store', () => {
+      environment.optimisticStore.Economist![0]!.name =
+        'Updated Jeremy Bentham';
+
+      mergeOptimisticLayer(environment);
+      expect(environment.optimisticLayer).toStrictEqual({});
+      expect(environment.optimisticStore.Economist?.[0]).toStrictEqual({
+        __typename: 'Economist',
+        id: '0',
+        name: 'Updated Jeremy Bentham',
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});