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kalyaniwarrier's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
Reflective of modern-day dictatorships and much aligned themes of 1984, The Memory Police dives into the world of tyranny and oppression by a government that wipes away things (and words) as time progresses.
In the novel, the unnamed protagonist fights in silence against the cruel regime by hiding the missing objects that her mother left in her basement, and by hiding a fugitive (someone the government is trying to get a hold of) in her house.
A classic case of dystopian literature, where the plot revolves around the oppressive rules of the government as people throw away their priced belongings as they are ordered to disappear.
As people of the island lose their body parts, they soon come to cope with their missing anatomy and eventually disappear into nothingness.
The novel is postmodern in nature as it features metafiction; story within a story that reflects themes of the novel itself. The novel reflects the reality of power and control to manipulate citizens to intimidate and garner fear among people.
In the novel, the unnamed protagonist fights in silence against the cruel regime by hiding the missing objects that her mother left in her basement, and by hiding a fugitive (someone the government is trying to get a hold of) in her house.
A classic case of dystopian literature, where the plot revolves around the oppressive rules of the government as people throw away their priced belongings as they are ordered to disappear.
The novel is postmodern in nature as it features metafiction; story within a story that reflects themes of the novel itself. The novel reflects the reality of power and control to manipulate citizens to intimidate and garner fear among people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality
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
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
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
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.annorabrady's review
dark
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
2.75
The book was an interesting premise but I had more questions than answers at the end. I expected some kind of explanation for what was happening, why the police were there enforcing it, why certain people were immune, etc. But instead it ended with just as much, if not less, knowledge of the events as it started.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, and Police brutality
pigeonpersona's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, Violence, Gaslighting, and Confinement
clarabooksit's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Sexual assault
jamie_reads_stuff's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is so sad but so heartwarming. It’s such a beautiful take on trauma, memory, and existence with a larger context of mass manipulation and dystopian police brutality. Something about the book to me was really heart warming about just people living their day to day lives in unfathomable consequences. That being said there’s like super minimal plot, but if you want to read it for the vibes, definitely do so!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Body horror, and Gaslighting
Iu_0's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow, this got me out of a decade long reading slump. I struggle to have words for this book. It was extremely emotional at times and at others I was pushed to a deeply sad state of calm acceptance similar to the main character in the book. I adore the writing of this book- it's not needlessly complicated or convoluted. It's beautiful and intentional. The Memory Police has a lot of special and unexpected qualities to it- the heartwarming depiction of platonic friendship and love, normal people instead of chosen one/super important characters, and a silent depiction of trauma that hit deep.
I was surprised that the novel within the novel was so mesmerizing and disturbing to me, the ending and the actions of the woman are still haunting me. I will say that the beginning of the book was an unquestionable 5 stars for me, middle slowed down and was a 4 stars, and the ending brought it back to 4 point something. I'm a little dissatisfied that most of my questions never got answers but I understand why Ogawa wrote it that way. The foreshadowing and laying of plot details was so good! I was so impressed with the way that information was revealed and later made relevant. I grew up really loving books like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, and this book easily stands among or above them as a cautionary tale and retaliation against oppression and totalitarianism.
The "tropes" felt familiar but then I realized it was the "tropes" of oppression, totalitarianism, and surveillance that were the same, that all these books are fighting the same evil. The last note to my stream of consciousness review is that this book really resonated with me because of my memory loss and disabilities too. The trauma of having something important indiscriminately taken away from you and having to live with a new normal without knowing what you've lost is an open wound for me and definitely explored in the book, if not in this context.
Everyone will walk away with something important to carry with them.
UPDATE:
[ I've sat with it a little longer and I now have an even stronger appreciation for this book. The text is quiet and slow paced, but it's also alive and screaming. I don't think everyone will like the format, but it really spoke to me. So much is written in subtext and to be understood and explored by the reader. This novel is so well crafted and I'm blown away that Ogawa was able to accomplish this tone and effect and still capture the beauty of humanity.
More and more I appreciate the ending and the choice of the slow, violent progression to the conclusion. Someone else wrote here in a review that the real terror of the novel comes from us having to continue reading the story although the characters don't resist or try to change their fates. It is much more profound this way and is the first time a story has broken me like that. Perhaps there was nothing that could change things past a certain point, perhaps our characters alone couldn't do it. Maybe it's wrong to expect them to sacrifice their lives to resistance?
I think the most important aspect of this book might be the refrain from making this book a fantasy or adventure about courageously overcoming the Memory police. Instead, the novel sits entrenched in the horror and sees the story to conclusion. The sense of normalcy and adaptation of the community is terrifying. The fact that life goes on is terrifying. The fact that no one comes to save them is terrifying. It's a type of tragedy I've never read before but it's one I think we're all living in a version of.
It left me with questions of what I expected from the protagonists. What should be expected from me If I was in their position? What is reasonable to expect of others? When one is powerless, what is there to do? Is there dignity in just surviving? What checks failed for this to happen and how could it have been prevented? How close are we to this now? Is it already too late?
I think it will be very natural for most of us to feel dissatisfied that we never got answers to the mysteries or that the characters weren't able to save themselves, but the point of this book was never to satisfy the reader. This was definitely a case where I expected to go on an adventure in the fiction but was instead left questioning why I would look for escape in a setting such as this. At the very least, I know I will always be grateful for this depiction of trauma.
I was surprised that the novel within the novel was so mesmerizing and disturbing to me, the ending and the actions of the woman are still haunting me. I will say that the beginning of the book was an unquestionable 5 stars for me, middle slowed down and was a 4 stars, and the ending brought it back to 4 point something. I'm a little dissatisfied that most of my questions never got answers but I understand why Ogawa wrote it that way. The foreshadowing and laying of plot details was so good! I was so impressed with the way that information was revealed and later made relevant. I grew up really loving books like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, and this book easily stands among or above them as a cautionary tale and retaliation against oppression and totalitarianism.
The "tropes" felt familiar but then I realized it was the "tropes" of oppression, totalitarianism, and surveillance that were the same, that all these books are fighting the same evil. The last note to my stream of consciousness review is that this book really resonated with me because of my memory loss and disabilities too. The trauma of having something important indiscriminately taken away from you and having to live with a new normal without knowing what you've lost is an open wound for me and definitely explored in the book, if not in this context.
Everyone will walk away with something important to carry with them.
UPDATE:
[ I've sat with it a little longer and I now have an even stronger appreciation for this book. The text is quiet and slow paced, but it's also alive and screaming. I don't think everyone will like the format, but it really spoke to me. So much is written in subtext and to be understood and explored by the reader. This novel is so well crafted and I'm blown away that Ogawa was able to accomplish this tone and effect and still capture the beauty of humanity.
More and more I appreciate the ending and the choice of the slow, violent progression to the conclusion. Someone else wrote here in a review that the real terror of the novel comes from us having to continue reading the story although
I think the most important aspect of this book might be the refrain from making this book a fantasy or adventure about courageously overcoming the Memory police. Instead, the novel sits entrenched in the horror and sees the story to conclusion. The sense of normalcy and adaptation of the community is terrifying. The fact that life goes on is terrifying.
It left me with questions of what I expected from the protagonists. What should be expected from me If I was in their position? What is reasonable to expect of others? When one is powerless, what is there to do? Is there dignity in just surviving? What checks failed for this to happen and how could it have been prevented? How close are we to this now? Is it already too late?
I think it will be very natural for most of us to feel dissatisfied that we never got answers to the mysteries or that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Ableism, Blood, and Medical content
lindseyhall44's review
dark
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
4.0
*This was the first book I read for Women in Translation Month (August)!
“Men who start by burning books end by burning other men.”
The Memory Police is a grim dystopic novel, exploring an island dominated by the memory police, a government entity working to destroy historical objects and their recollection in humankind. Defying the memory police can mean death, but our narrator does so, in order to protect her editor-a man who does not forget-from the memory police.
As someone who read 1984 for high school English, I believe this novel would have made an amazing substitute. Both books hold a similar eerie and almost bleak mood, and the corrupt government organization is shared as well. The Memory Police stands out, however, through the utilization of the novel as a form. Also, not to mention that the women in 1989 are written with many stereotypes.
Overall, I would highly recommend for any dystopia fans, and I look forward to picking up The Housekeeper and the Professor in the future.
As always please check trigger warnings before reading!
“Men who start by burning books end by burning other men.”
The Memory Police is a grim dystopic novel, exploring an island dominated by the memory police, a government entity working to destroy historical objects and their recollection in humankind. Defying the memory police can mean death, but our narrator does so, in order to protect her editor-a man who does not forget-from the memory police.
As someone who read 1984 for high school English, I believe this novel would have made an amazing substitute. Both books hold a similar eerie and almost bleak mood, and the corrupt government organization is shared as well. The Memory Police stands out, however, through the utilization of the novel as a form. Also, not to mention that the women in 1989 are written with many stereotypes.
Overall, I would highly recommend for any dystopia fans, and I look forward to picking up The Housekeeper and the Professor in the future.
As always please check trigger warnings before reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death
junheechuu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence