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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.
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.
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
gfiore11's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book is a surprisingly quiet yet impactful reflection on human existence, relationships, and the material world. The themes and ambiance are the standouts of this book, and you should not read expecting any revaluations or resolutions. Instead, bask in the environment of the novel as it changes and eventually disappears.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
moxiereads's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, and Grief
apthompson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
“My memories don’t feel as though they’ve been pulled up by the root. Even if they fade, something remains. Like tiny seeds that might germinate again if the rain falls. And even if a memory disappears completely, the heart retains something. A slight tremor or pain, some bit of joy, a tear.”
“His soul is too dense. If he comes out, he’ll dissolve into pieces, like a deep-sea fish pulled to the surface too quickly. I suppose my job is to go on holding him here at the bottom of the sea.”
“People—and I’m no exception—seem capable of forgetting almost anything, much as if our island were unable to float in anything but an expanse of totally empty sea.”
This novel, in its Orwellian decent, presents a surveillance-state dystopian island, where collective loss is enforced, and those who remember are systematically destroyed by The Memory Police. This a highly personal and profound type of apocalypse. The plot is reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank, and other real life histories of safe houses in the face or persecution; it concerns a woman’s efforts to hide one of the people who remembers, someone she cares for, in a purpose-built annex under her floorboards.
While it is, in many ways, set up like a typical dystopian novel that deftly illustrates the insidious, dehumanizing claw of totalitarianism, the true power of this novel is how it moves past the political implications of a dystopia to the very real horrors of forgetting and the destruction to society and the self this causes. There’s a quiet tension that stalks the pages of the novel. The fear, claustrophobia and struggle feel real.
If you want to read a sci-fi book that explores the effects on the individual, then definitely pick this up.
rating: ★★★★
🗺️ Reading Around the World 2024: Japan 🇯🇵
“His soul is too dense. If he comes out, he’ll dissolve into pieces, like a deep-sea fish pulled to the surface too quickly. I suppose my job is to go on holding him here at the bottom of the sea.”
“People—and I’m no exception—seem capable of forgetting almost anything, much as if our island were unable to float in anything but an expanse of totally empty sea.”
This novel, in its Orwellian decent, presents a surveillance-state dystopian island, where collective loss is enforced, and those who remember are systematically destroyed by The Memory Police. This a highly personal and profound type of apocalypse. The plot is reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank, and other real life histories of safe houses in the face or persecution; it concerns a woman’s efforts to hide one of the people who remembers, someone she cares for, in a purpose-built annex under her floorboards.
While it is, in many ways, set up like a typical dystopian novel that deftly illustrates the insidious, dehumanizing claw of totalitarianism, the true power of this novel is how it moves past the political implications of a dystopia to the very real horrors of forgetting and the destruction to society and the self this causes. There’s a quiet tension that stalks the pages of the novel. The fear, claustrophobia and struggle feel real.
If you want to read a sci-fi book that explores the effects on the individual, then definitely pick this up.
rating: ★★★★
🗺️ Reading Around the World 2024: Japan 🇯🇵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, and Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
hannah_and_her_stories's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror, Infidelity, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Dysphoria
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
i thought this was such a cool idea for a book and thought it was executed really well. i love any book with found family elements, especially when it involves an older person. the relationships formed and described were the backbone of this story imo. the only thing i struggled with was the ending. it wasn't exactly what i imagined or thought fit well with the story but it wasn't bad. also i really want the author to release a book that fully tells the story that the main character was writing. i loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
carolinalopezwatt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death
miak2's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"How does it feel to remember everything? To have everything that the rest of us have lost saved up in your heart?" p.85
What a unique concept for a dystopia book - objects are disappearing, but not in a literal sense. If hats disappear, it's not that they physically vanish, but any memories or knowledge of them disappears from the mind, and people go on about their lives as if hats never existed. I could tell that the concept gave Ogawa some difficulty too. After all, how do we imagine what it's like to not know music or books? Specifically, I recall that fruits disappeared, but Ogawa went on to mention them a couple of times in passing afterwards anyway.
That said, this book really explores one question: is it better to remember all the things you can no longer experience, or for it to be as if you never knew them at all? One is perhaps more fulfilling, but it comes with the risk of being discovered by the Memory Police. And the other, well, what sort of life is it when the objects you know are slowly dwindling down?
I liked that, alongside the main story, was a story that the main character was writing about a different kind of loss. It really put into words how the narrator felt trapped in her own body, even if she didn't appear to realize it. I also think it's very interesting that there aren't any named characters in the novel, the closest being the nickname R. Really makes you think...
The friendship between the old man and the main character was truly special. I loved every second that they interacted, and I really felt the familial love they had for each other. R, however... I liked what he represented, but I didn't feel particularly attached to him and I didn't care for the adultery storyline introduced with him.
I'm feeling mixed about the ending of the book. Without saying too much, it was a little underwhelming. But that's perhaps because I entered it with expectations for it to more closely resemble 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale. I think the ending was fitting for the story being told, albeit somewhat dissatisfying. Nevertheless, I think there's a lot of fantastic things about this book and I'm very glad that I read it!
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
kstericker's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Infidelity, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
sassyshark's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Eating disorder, Gore, and Medical content