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A review by eiverlit
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
3.0
Memory Police have only left me with countless questions unanswered, like how or why there was a Memory Police in the first place and who created them, or why is the island prone to making things and living things disappear. The book didn't really answer any of that. I thought they'd tackle how to get rid of the Memory Police or how they're going to make memories come back for those who can't remember things that have already disappeared. Also, there were some inconsistencies with the book like the disappearance of all kinds of fruits and later in the story, there are still tomatoes present (tomatoes are fruit fyi). Aside from that, I felt uncomfortable with the mc and R's relationship. Talk about cheaters. I get that they're seeking comfort and refuge from each other but that doesn't mean R should cheat on his wife. And on the last few pages, I wondered if the author was going to mention R's wife and their baby. How they never really got reunited in the end when all the citizens on the island began to disappear. Like, R's life was stuck in the hidden room occasionally confiding with the mc. Like R's wife and the baby wasn't given much importance to the story.
On the other hand, I think the story the mc wrote speaks for itself with the happenings in her real life. That they were bound to disappear. But throughout, I think that the plot's slightly misleading because we only had a short glimpse or a short chapter with R hiding while the Memory Police raided the mc's house. And all around, the story goes on and on with the mc's monologue and not really continuing writing her story - cus at some point, novels disappeared and the continuation of her story was only viewed in the last part of the book.
I still do have a lot of thoughts regarding this book. However, as this is the first book I've read from a Japanese author, I can say that it's really well done. The story's more than what's on the surface - much like an abstract painting.
On the other hand, I think the story the mc wrote speaks for itself with the happenings in her real life. That they were bound to disappear. But throughout, I think that the plot's slightly misleading because we only had a short glimpse or a short chapter with R hiding while the Memory Police raided the mc's house. And all around, the story goes on and on with the mc's monologue and not really continuing writing her story - cus at some point, novels disappeared and the continuation of her story was only viewed in the last part of the book.
I still do have a lot of thoughts regarding this book. However, as this is the first book I've read from a Japanese author, I can say that it's really well done. The story's more than what's on the surface - much like an abstract painting.