Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

47 reviews

ajcham01's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Quick read with with a surreal plot requiring heavy suspension of disbelief. Impossible occurrences drive the plot and are not explained; if you can get on board, the story is an engaging, if foreboding, remark on state surveillance and the resulting self-policing: a new metaphor for the panopticon and what we lose when we submit to it. 

The kind of book where I realized I was about 10 pages from finishing and knew I wouldn’t get the ending I wanted, but the ending worked nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

the main character is a novelist and there is moderate SA within one of the stories she’s writing

britb's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I think this book was over hyped for me and did not live up to my expectations which is not it’s fault. If I went in without ever hearing of it before I would have probably enjoyed it more. 
I think this is a really good book just not my personal style. If you like slower paced books that make you think you should definitely pick it up! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood and Sexual assault

I feel like this isn’t really mentioned a lot in reviews for this book but there is a bit of Stockholm syndrome in the story the main character is writing throughout the book and the kidnapper does sexually assault the main character in that story.

zoe_s16's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Physical abuse

itsyourpaldave's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

laneyreadz's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

biblio_ione's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

clarabooksit's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual assault

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i thought this was such a cool idea for a book and thought it was executed really well. i love any book with found family elements, especially when it involves an older person. the relationships formed and described were the backbone of this story imo. the only thing i struggled with was the ending. it wasn't exactly what i imagined or thought fit well with the story but it wasn't bad. also i really want the author to release a book that fully tells the story that the main character was writing. i loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexual content

tasse's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

Ever since reading 1984 by George Orwell I have been obsessed with books and stories that explore of how society and humans might look in a world where things like, words, truths and memories, can be taken from them. This book has such and interesting premise. However, it fails to explore them thoroughly and parts of this book feel unfinished. I went into this book expecting something similar to Ella Minnow Pea, but instead found something vastly different yet inquisitive and interesting in its own way. The last one hundred pages of this book earned it four stars and it was definitely worth the read 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

joshoonet's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

• Different from anything I've read before for sure
• Has a very dreamlike atmosphere
• Mostly like it for the vibes and unique setting, plot is almost secondary
• There will be no answers
• Some beautiful descriptions

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation and Dementia

Moderate: Confinement and Death

Minor: Sexual assault, Body horror, and Pregnancy

Confinement/Sexual Assault:

the protagonist writes a novel, in which a woman is locked in a clock tower and alluded to be taken advantage of; no graphic descriptions at all

Deportation:

when people don't forget things they're supposed to, they get taken away by the memory police and are never seen again.

Body Horror:

not sure if this qualifies? But at some point body parts start to "disappear" aka go numb and aren't associated with the body anymore; this causes some concern