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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a unique, unnerving story. I don't think I've ever read a dystopia like this, so quiet and meditative, without much of a real plot or any sort of "resistance movement" fighting against the status quo. There isn't that much physical violence either—the Memory Police is certainly violent, but we never see what they do to their victims, and they aren't all that important to the overall themes of the book, in my opinion (which is probably why they aren't mentioned in the original Japanese title).
I personally took the book as an examination of how our sense of self is intrinsically tied to our memory, how we wouldn't exist as individuals without the ability to remember our past and interact with the world around us. In fact, I hesitate to classify this as a truly dystopian novel, because, as much as the loss of our identity can be fostered by a totalitarian state, the author also explores how it can be caused by abusive relationships, and even by our own passivity. After all, the Memory Police can only hold onto their power because the majority of the island seems to have accepted the situation as inevitable, and insists on pretending like the disappearances aren't such a big deal.
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, even though it was a little repetitive at times and maybe it could've been a bit shorter. I'm looking forward to reading more of Yōko Ogawa's work in the future.
I personally took the book as an examination of how our sense of self is intrinsically tied to our memory, how we wouldn't exist as individuals without the ability to remember our past and interact with the world around us. In fact, I hesitate to classify this as a truly dystopian novel, because, as much as the loss of our identity can be fostered by a totalitarian state, the author also explores how it can be caused by abusive relationships, and even by our own passivity. After all, the Memory Police can only hold onto their power because the majority of the island seems to have accepted the situation as inevitable, and insists on pretending like the disappearances aren't such a big deal.
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, even though it was a little repetitive at times and maybe it could've been a bit shorter. I'm looking forward to reading more of Yōko Ogawa's work in the future.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed the prose and the appreciation of the power of memories, especially under a fascist regime. But surely there are better ways to survive a fascist government. We spent a lot of time lingering on things that never really mattered to the story (that completely unnecessary romance for one) and unfortunately the nature of the world building meant lots of things remained highly vague without much meaning.
Like if we look at all of the efforts in history where oppressive governments attempted to suppress less than stellar memories of events to sell their own narrative, we understand the importance of memories and maintaining them to remain truthful to our history to not repeat it. But for this specific world-building, there didn't seem to really be any motivation for the Memory Police to cause the disappearancesand, if the ending is to be believed, if it was just the nature of the island to cause the disappearances then what was their motivation to enforce them?
If you enjoy surrealist dystopian fiction, then this probably isn't the worst read in the world but I was frankly annoyed by the passive main character and the incredibly unnecessary romance in a world that never really made full sense to me.
Like if we look at all of the efforts in history where oppressive governments attempted to suppress less than stellar memories of events to sell their own narrative, we understand the importance of memories and maintaining them to remain truthful to our history to not repeat it. But for this specific world-building, there didn't seem to really be any motivation for the Memory Police to cause the disappearances
If you enjoy surrealist dystopian fiction, then this probably isn't the worst read in the world but I was frankly annoyed by the passive main character and the incredibly unnecessary romance in a world that never really made full sense to me.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I both loved and hated this book. The book had such an intense and slow sense of dread that creeps up on you before you know it. I think that was why I struggled with the story somewhat, as I am reading it at a time in my life where I am also faced with lots of change and great uncertainty. But it’s so believable in the way in which people just accept terrible things and are scared. How that can freeze us in place. The sense of constant loss in the book is also palpable. But the ending left my bereft, shocked and moved. I would have rated it a five had the story plot progression felt more substantial rather than being mostly focused on the average day and continual anxiety. Although I understand that is what is also quite impactful about the story.
emotional
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:
Complicated
holy fucking shit. this is going to be my favourite book now. it's spectacularly numbing and so deeply emotional. i couldn't call it sad because there are some inspiring moments, but the whole thing is just so beautiful.
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m not sure where I should start with this book. I think it’s one of those books that I have to sit with and think about for a while. It seems deeply allegorical but I’m not too sure about the message it’s sending. Unlike other dystopian books (like classics such as 1984), the message here is not as clear cut and it gets quite confusing towards the end. For example, “smaller” disappearances at the start (e.g., hats, roses) could perhaps point to how different “objects” throughout history (e.g., language and culture) fall victim to time, politics, and prejudice. Actually this is becoming clearer to me as I’m writing this review. These “objects” are so quintessential to humanity as a whole that for each object that we lose to the movers of history, we lose bits and pieces of ourselves.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated