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anemosise's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
totally understand why some wouldn't enjoy this book, it's a bit slow and doesn't answer all the questions it raises, but i really liked a lot of concepts at play in this :) we don't ever fully understand the memory police, which I think makes sense to me. i get that it could be a let down, but truly, the people under rule will never truly understand the government or a totalitarian regime. this book is about an apathy and the effects on the people who dont fully understand what is happening in their world. being forced to be complacent with the loss of things we once thought to treasure, and accepting as the world grows darker and blander. how do we continue going when we lose our sense of comprehension?? anyways. i liked this!!!
a short essay i liked about the book:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2021/07/yoko-ogawas-the-memory-police-and-the-dangers-of-forgetting/
first book I've read properly in a few months cause I've been busyyyyy.. excited to read more this summer!
a short essay i liked about the book:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2021/07/yoko-ogawas-the-memory-police-and-the-dangers-of-forgetting/
first book I've read properly in a few months cause I've been busyyyyy.. excited to read more this summer!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
cbala6's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
calicos's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
issymaae's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Police brutality
Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Rape
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
apthompson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
“My memories don’t feel as though they’ve been pulled up by the root. Even if they fade, something remains. Like tiny seeds that might germinate again if the rain falls. And even if a memory disappears completely, the heart retains something. A slight tremor or pain, some bit of joy, a tear.”
“His soul is too dense. If he comes out, he’ll dissolve into pieces, like a deep-sea fish pulled to the surface too quickly. I suppose my job is to go on holding him here at the bottom of the sea.”
“People—and I’m no exception—seem capable of forgetting almost anything, much as if our island were unable to float in anything but an expanse of totally empty sea.”
This novel, in its Orwellian decent, presents a surveillance-state dystopian island, where collective loss is enforced, and those who remember are systematically destroyed by The Memory Police. This a highly personal and profound type of apocalypse. The plot is reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank, and other real life histories of safe houses in the face or persecution; it concerns a woman’s efforts to hide one of the people who remembers, someone she cares for, in a purpose-built annex under her floorboards.
While it is, in many ways, set up like a typical dystopian novel that deftly illustrates the insidious, dehumanizing claw of totalitarianism, the true power of this novel is how it moves past the political implications of a dystopia to the very real horrors of forgetting and the destruction to society and the self this causes. There’s a quiet tension that stalks the pages of the novel. The fear, claustrophobia and struggle feel real.
If you want to read a sci-fi book that explores the effects on the individual, then definitely pick this up.
rating: ★★★★
🗺️ Reading Around the World 2024: Japan 🇯🇵
“His soul is too dense. If he comes out, he’ll dissolve into pieces, like a deep-sea fish pulled to the surface too quickly. I suppose my job is to go on holding him here at the bottom of the sea.”
“People—and I’m no exception—seem capable of forgetting almost anything, much as if our island were unable to float in anything but an expanse of totally empty sea.”
This novel, in its Orwellian decent, presents a surveillance-state dystopian island, where collective loss is enforced, and those who remember are systematically destroyed by The Memory Police. This a highly personal and profound type of apocalypse. The plot is reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank, and other real life histories of safe houses in the face or persecution; it concerns a woman’s efforts to hide one of the people who remembers, someone she cares for, in a purpose-built annex under her floorboards.
While it is, in many ways, set up like a typical dystopian novel that deftly illustrates the insidious, dehumanizing claw of totalitarianism, the true power of this novel is how it moves past the political implications of a dystopia to the very real horrors of forgetting and the destruction to society and the self this causes. There’s a quiet tension that stalks the pages of the novel. The fear, claustrophobia and struggle feel real.
If you want to read a sci-fi book that explores the effects on the individual, then definitely pick this up.
rating: ★★★★
🗺️ Reading Around the World 2024: Japan 🇯🇵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, and Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
avasbookmark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape
scumlow's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Death, Rape, and Violence
bookynooknook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I appreciated what it was trying to do, but I just didn’t find it as dystopian as I’d have liked. Might say more about me than the book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
cat_is_turning_pages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A hauntingly written novel with a terrifying ending, The Memory Police is not a traditional book with an obvious story arc. More of an allegory than a story, the novel opens a window to a handful of years of the life of a young woman who lives on an island where random things are “disappearing,” meaning the island citizens are forced to forget and compelled to dispose of the items which “disappear.”
Though the prose is quite simple, the author’s mysterious emphasis on what seem to be carefully chosen elements left me slightly puzzled. I found the characters’ tendency toward inaction frustrating, the lack of explanations boring, and I finished the novel acutely unsatisfied. I had the immediate impulse to slap a one-star rating and annoyed review on what seemed to me to be an over-hyped book. Yes, it’s different from most novels. But different doesn’t necessarily mean good.
However, after sitting with this story for half an hour or so, while reading reviews from other readers, I’ve made peace with The Memory Police. I was struck by just how widely varied the interpretations and explanations I read were. For some, the allegory was clearly political. For others, metaphysical. Others derived a distinctly religious overtone from the book. But my first impression led me to assign a psychological theme to the book’s message.
It struck me then that The Memory Police as a novel is like an enchanted mirror that shows the reader their deepest fear. The story had to be terrifying to unearth this fear. The plot had to be simple to adapt itself to every reader’s unique psyche. The explanations for events had to be sparse so the reader could fill in the gaps.
I didn’t enjoy this book, but I do recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Dysphoria