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A review by perfectplaces
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
“What’s gone is gone completely. I have no seeds inside me, waiting to sprout again. I have to make do with a hollow heart full of holes.”
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i really loved this! it was so thought provoking and also subtly horrifying.
the tone is absolutely excellent; it eases you into the world of the novel and the life of the main character and then so suddenly pulls the rug from underneath you again and again. i also really loved the story-within-a-story, though that’s where most of the triggering content is so it’s definitely skippable.
either way i felt it was a rly good and compelling take on the dystopian genre. i saw ppl in the reviews saying they felt it was unrealistic how passive the people of the protagonist’s island were, but i felt that ogawa’s approach was both compelling and arguably more realistic; much more so imo than the idea that people would largely fight back.
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i really loved this! it was so thought provoking and also subtly horrifying.
the tone is absolutely excellent; it eases you into the world of the novel and the life of the main character and then so suddenly pulls the rug from underneath you again and again. i also really loved the story-within-a-story, though that’s where most of the triggering content is so it’s definitely skippable.
either way i felt it was a rly good and compelling take on the dystopian genre. i saw ppl in the reviews saying they felt it was unrealistic how passive the people of the protagonist’s island were, but i felt that ogawa’s approach was both compelling and arguably more realistic; much more so imo than the idea that people would largely fight back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Police brutality
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death
Minor: Emotional abuse
Many of the triggers (toxic relationship, emotional abuse) take place in the story-within-a-story. These have a different font (in the printed version at least) and are easy to skip without losing anything of the main story as they serve a largely symbolic role.