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elenavillan 's review for:
La Policía de la Memoria
by Yōko Ogawa
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a unique, unnerving story. I don't think I've ever read a dystopia like this, so quiet and meditative, without much of a real plot or any sort of "resistance movement" fighting against the status quo. There isn't that much physical violence either—the Memory Police is certainly violent, but we never see what they do to their victims, and they aren't all that important to the overall themes of the book, in my opinion (which is probably why they aren't mentioned in the original Japanese title).
I personally took the book as an examination of how our sense of self is intrinsically tied to our memory, how we wouldn't exist as individuals without the ability to remember our past and interact with the world around us. In fact, I hesitate to classify this as a truly dystopian novel, because, as much as the loss of our identity can be fostered by a totalitarian state, the author also explores how it can be caused by abusive relationships, and even by our own passivity. After all, the Memory Police can only hold onto their power because the majority of the island seems to have accepted the situation as inevitable, and insists on pretending like the disappearances aren't such a big deal.
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, even though it was a little repetitive at times and maybe it could've been a bit shorter. I'm looking forward to reading more of Yōko Ogawa's work in the future.
I personally took the book as an examination of how our sense of self is intrinsically tied to our memory, how we wouldn't exist as individuals without the ability to remember our past and interact with the world around us. In fact, I hesitate to classify this as a truly dystopian novel, because, as much as the loss of our identity can be fostered by a totalitarian state, the author also explores how it can be caused by abusive relationships, and even by our own passivity. After all, the Memory Police can only hold onto their power because the majority of the island seems to have accepted the situation as inevitable, and insists on pretending like the disappearances aren't such a big deal.
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, even though it was a little repetitive at times and maybe it could've been a bit shorter. I'm looking forward to reading more of Yōko Ogawa's work in the future.