A review by ajcham01
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Quick read with with a surreal plot requiring heavy suspension of disbelief. Impossible occurrences drive the plot and are not explained; if you can get on board, the story is an engaging, if foreboding, remark on state surveillance and the resulting self-policing: a new metaphor for the panopticon and what we lose when we submit to it. 

The kind of book where I realized I was about 10 pages from finishing and knew I wouldn’t get the ending I wanted, but the ending worked nonetheless.
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