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alansun 's review for:
The Memory Police
by Yōko Ogawa
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Memory Police is tense and suffocating. The lives that the characters live seem scary and hopeless, but everything is written so plainly, as if nothing could be more normal. With this writing style, Ogawa builds an eerie and claustrophobic environment in which to ground the story.
Some other reviews mentioned the lack of a real plot, or sense of where the story was going. I somewhat agree—it was more like we were simply floating around in space watching our main character's world and memories crumble around her. But I don't necessarily think this had a negative effect on the story; in fact, I think it was important for the world that Ogawa created. The memory police are supposed to bring forth uncertainty. You never know when something else will disappear, so you can never prepare. And this is reflected by our main character's apathy toward disappearances. You just sit by and wait for it to happen. That's all you can do.
That's kinda how I frame this book. You read it just to see what happens—not to experience a riveting plot or meaningful character development—because that's the kind of world the story resides in.
Some other reviews mentioned the lack of a real plot, or sense of where the story was going. I somewhat agree—it was more like we were simply floating around in space watching our main character's world and memories crumble around her. But I don't necessarily think this had a negative effect on the story; in fact, I think it was important for the world that Ogawa created. The memory police are supposed to bring forth uncertainty. You never know when something else will disappear, so you can never prepare. And this is reflected by our main character's apathy toward disappearances. You just sit by and wait for it to happen. That's all you can do.
That's kinda how I frame this book. You read it just to see what happens—not to experience a riveting plot or meaningful character development—because that's the kind of world the story resides in.