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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Such a depressing book void of any hope or happiness. The unnamed main character lives on an island where things gradually disappear. Things like birds, harmonicas, novels, etc. The people on the island accept these disapperiences as simply a phenomenon that happens and shape their lives accordingly. They forget those things disappeared. People who are unable to forget the things that disappear are considered enemies of the state and hunted/sent away by the memory police. R is such a man. The unnamed woman hides R in a secret room as protection from being discovered by the memory police. But things keep disappearing…
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent
Quite a frustrating read for me. Threads of the novel are first class, but the whole is marred by a curious loyalty to state-control dystopia tropes. When these dystopias work, they work because they spring from a stifling inevitability brought about by a circumstance such as environmental collapse, exponential technological progress, or biological error, which is often exploited by a power seeking control. This power becomes the antagonist which our main character attempts to defy. So far so good, but that power must have a consistent rationale. This is where The Memory Police goes off the rails.
Ogawa delivers a standard nazi-like state, complete with impressive uniforms, stomping boots, house searches, declarations, abductions, etc, but offers no reasoning for their project. Ostensibly, they are weeding out those with intact memories. Why? Nope. They are enforcing disappearances. Why? Nope. They are destroying the disappeared things. Why? Nope. The people lose use for them anyway.
The MPs provide a plot driver, but a frustratingly unnecessary one. Ogawa's main concerns with the novel (as with Prof/Housekeeper) are explorations of memory and identity, in this case the decay of. These are handled with a restrained spare prose capable of incredible clarity and power; the kind of writing that has fans devouring her books all over the world. The disintegration of the main character, her battle with her art, her wonderfully revealing manuscript, even the collective losses of the island's people, are a fantastically creative and satisfying project to read, independent of the MPs. Her inner challenges (and those of her fellow islanders) due to the strange disappearances which lead to complete destruction are enough for a superb tale, and I'm sure Ogawa would have delivered a stunning original dystopia without the need of a police at all.
Ogawa delivers a standard nazi-like state, complete with impressive uniforms, stomping boots, house searches, declarations, abductions, etc, but offers no reasoning for their project. Ostensibly, they are weeding out those with intact memories. Why? Nope. They are enforcing disappearances. Why? Nope. They are destroying the disappeared things. Why? Nope. The people lose use for them anyway.
The MPs provide a plot driver, but a frustratingly unnecessary one. Ogawa's main concerns with the novel (as with Prof/Housekeeper) are explorations of memory and identity, in this case the decay of. These are handled with a restrained spare prose capable of incredible clarity and power; the kind of writing that has fans devouring her books all over the world. The disintegration of the main character, her battle with her art, her wonderfully revealing manuscript, even the collective losses of the island's people, are a fantastically creative and satisfying project to read, independent of the MPs. Her inner challenges (and those of her fellow islanders) due to the strange disappearances which lead to complete destruction are enough for a superb tale, and I'm sure Ogawa would have delivered a stunning original dystopia without the need of a police at all.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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:
Complicated