Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

42 reviews

avie_1's review

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

tashba's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Kidnapping, and Emotional abuse

juicytoot's review

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

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

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.

iheartapolloxxi's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Ogawa’s writing is truly phenomenal, from the first page I was completely hooked. The story is unique  and  leaves you wanting more. The characters were lovable and I found myself constantly rooting for them. Truly an amazing read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

hannah_and_her_stories's review

dark reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Confinement

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

Minor: Dysphoria, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence

lea333's review

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault

augustst's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Forced institutionalization