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A review by coralinejones
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
3.0
Such an odd, bare bones, novel. The beginning was absolutely stellar. I swear to you I could envision the environment as if I was living in the world with those characters. This isn't a thriller by any means, but I was thrilled to uncover why society has melted into this dystopian nightmare where we forget our memories and must dispose of our beloved objects.
Yet that never came?
The story progressed and we barely obtained any information on... anything. (No world building, barely any character development), and then it just ends on such an abstract note. I don't mind "plot-less" books, I don't mind weird books! But "The Memory Police" almost felt like a complete waste of time. I'm still figuring out what I was supposed to get out of this narrative.
At first I was trying to connecting dots to maybe political commentary on book burning / book banning? Nazis? Police riots? Governments trying to control their citizens? None of those felt right as the book continued, all but the last one made just a little bit of sense all things considered.
I also wasn't a fan of the protagonists novel, of which we were forced to read snippets of at the beginning of some chapters. Considering I was looking for more information on this society, the Memory Police themselves, etc, it was overwhelmingly uninteresting to me in comparison. Then the books ends with no additional context.
I don't know if you're planning on reading this to learn, to gain a new perspective, or simply for entertainment value but I don't think this book provides any of those things so... Do with that as you will.
All that aside, the writing is engaging and it does make you curious for more, even if it never comes.
Yet that never came?
The story progressed and we barely obtained any information on... anything. (No world building, barely any character development), and then it just ends on such an abstract note. I don't mind "plot-less" books, I don't mind weird books! But "The Memory Police" almost felt like a complete waste of time. I'm still figuring out what I was supposed to get out of this narrative.
At first I was trying to connecting dots to maybe political commentary on book burning / book banning? Nazis? Police riots? Governments trying to control their citizens? None of those felt right as the book continued, all but the last one made just a little bit of sense all things considered.
I also wasn't a fan of the protagonists novel, of which we were forced to read snippets of at the beginning of some chapters. Considering I was looking for more information on this society, the Memory Police themselves, etc, it was overwhelmingly uninteresting to me in comparison. Then the books ends with no additional context.
I don't know if you're planning on reading this to learn, to gain a new perspective, or simply for entertainment value but I don't think this book provides any of those things so... Do with that as you will.
All that aside, the writing is engaging and it does make you curious for more, even if it never comes.