Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

22 reviews

prickly_plant's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

2.75

A very melancholy read that explores the meaning of memory and grief. I wanted to add that this book contains content that might be difficult to read if you struggle with dissociation. 

The writing style and the characters kept me reading (as well as the main character’s novel). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Grief, Police brutality, and Death

Minor: Animal death

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

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

risemini's review

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

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture, Murder, Medical content, Animal death, and Gore

Natural disasters (earthquake, tsunami). Enforced memory loss, unreality.

_rowan_'s review

dark reflective sad medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Death, Police brutality, and Terminal illness

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

Minor: Rape and Animal death

thebookpaiges's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Deportation

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Animal death and Rape

theliteraryhooker's review

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.25

While this is a very slow burn of a novel, the emotional impact it conveys is next level. Multiple times I had to set this book aside because it was just breaking my heart. A very non-traditional dystopian novel that is all the more effective for its unique approach to topics like fascism, humanity, society and love. Highly recommend giving this a read, but be prepared for the emotional toll it will take.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Minor: Police brutality, Death of parent, and Animal death

oceanwriter's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.75

Though I wouldn't quite label this Orwellian, The Memory Police certainly was haunting. 

Somewhere in the ocean off Japan, there's an island run by the Memory Police who can make objects (and people) disappear forever at a whim. One day there are birds, the next day they're ordered to be set free, and soon enough, the people of the island can hardly recall the word 'bird' let alone what they looked like or any memories associated with them. Disappearances are a common occurrence and compliance is expected. Most people are able to erase their memories without effort. Unfortunately for those few who can't, it means their lives are in danger and they must go into hiding. Such is the case for R who is hidden by the unnamed narrator of the book. 

Lacking in world-building, we don't learn exactly how the Memory Police operate, only that they are stoic figures who think nothing of barging into people's homes and tearing the contents apart in search of disappeared items or evidence of resistance. We don't know how these people came to power, what their origin is, or how long they've been in power. It's been a while at least, and several hold out hope that they will someday be the ones to disappear. 

The story itself has a slow pace for a dystopian novel but it worked for me. Less focus on the technicalities of this universe allowed for a lot of attention on the characters. I especially loved the narrator's friendship with the old man. Their scenes were my favorite parts of the book. I also liked R's efforts to try and get the two to remember items they'd long forgotten, even if it's just one of the associated memories. 

The narrator is a novelist and some sections of the book follow the book she's writing. While these passages give a deeper look into the narrator's mind and how she's internalized life beholden to the Memory Police, I would have traded them for more world-building. So many questions go unanswered. Perhaps this is fitting for a book about people losing their memories (and in turn knowledge), however as a reader, it's difficult not to crave more build-up for a full understanding of the islander's lives. Nevertheless, the ideas of this book — manufactured memory loss — are too intriguing not to enjoy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent and Infidelity

Minor: Animal death and Rape