Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

145 reviews

mads_jpg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A chilling story, but one that still has this warmth that made me so invested in these unnamed characters.

The disappearances reminded me of my fears from the climate crisis. We're constantly losing endangered species and seeing alarmist articles about how we might lose foods like coffee or chocolate. It feels like the earth is constantly running out of things. Like the Florence Welch lyric "and what if one day there is no such thing as snow". 

But that's just one interpretation of many you could have with this book. Its themes of loss, control, agency, and more are very impactful, and I think I'll remember this book for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Suicide

mangofraiche's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

bmatth3's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Admittedly, it’s a little too neatly written, but I loved every word of this book. The parallel stories, the ending, the reflection of our actual lives today, and the ever present Japanese them of ephemera. I’ll be thinking about this one a long time, which is a little ironic given its subject matter 😂 Would love to see this made into a movie. Since it seems a lot of these dystopian settings are on isolated islands, Hollywood cops probably reuse a set from a previous dystopian movie set on an island 🤣

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

rosie_valadez's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

tomboyaoi's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

astrohannah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

mr_ryancowboy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It's a beautiful book, very atmospheric. It is however, super bleak dystopia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Body horror and Death

el_viral's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Haunting. This is beautifully written prose, dream-like storytelling. The gradual disappearance fuels existential dread. At first, I thought there may be some way of saving the island and our protagonist, but in the end the slow ebbing away feels inevitable.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death and Death of parent

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A very poignant book that delves into themes of identity, loss and defiance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death