Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

93 reviews

avie_1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Death, Gaslighting, and Deportation

Minor: Death of parent

pixie_dust's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Of all the books I have on my shelf, this one has to be one of the most depressing that I own. Yet, at the same time, it is the one that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone, especially those looking for something dystopian and speculative. You follow the protagonist, her editor R, and her close old man friend through an island where everything slowly disappears from memory. And you will definitely feel nothing but heartache for these characters. This book is not for those looking for action or rebellion, especially against the titular Memory Police. Instead, this is a view into the life of people living in a world where things are out of their control. Prepare yourself for a depresso for this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Police brutality, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Rape

juicytoot's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

this book was Very slow and took me a while to finish it bc i felt obligated to. i didn’t feel attached to any of the characters specifically.

when i got to the last eighth of the book, it turned heart wrenching, with an ending i dreaded as i turned each page. nothing about the world made sense but it didn’t matter, because in the end everything disappeared

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship

i do not recommend reading this one if you are struggling mentally, it isn’t an uplifting book

readingtotravel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Subtle, understated, and haunting dystopian story about the horror of forgetting and the dangers of living in a surveillance state. 

Loved this book. It's one of the books that will stay with you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Violence, Blood, Gore, and Animal death

katilh's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

saoreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It is so odd and strange; there were those warm moments, but it felt like something in you was depriving you with the way disappearances had occurred. It's as if they were living in a twisted social experiment setting. The things you could control were no longer there because the feeling was no longer there and the memory of how it worked was no longer there. It's distorting to think of a world like this one. Nevertheless, it was interesting to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, and Death of parent

nonpassionproject's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

It's one of the slowest books I've read. But after finishing it, I turned the themes and topics over in my head for hours! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

heartofhorrors's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Police brutality and Pregnancy

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Death of parent, Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death