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thebookpaiges's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Deportation
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Animal death and Rape
larazager's review against another edition
I went into this book expecting SO MUCH, but it just left me feeling so disappointed. It made me so confused because people are supposed to be forgetting things, for example photographs, but when someone mentions them (like R did) they can still vaguely recall them. That’s not what forgetting is…
Also the thing with the music box… It takes the main character and the old man some time to figure out what it is, because it had disappeared and they couldn’t remember it. But even a while after they listened to it and saw it, a while after them not seeing it anymore, the main character still talks about it and talks about how she can perfectly remember the whole melody. How is that even possible if the music box is disappeared and she supposedly doesn’t remember anything? It makes no sense. How are they able to hear the music from the music box, but are not able to smell the perfume from the perfume bottle that had disappeared?? It’s a huge plot hole, and it makes zero sense.
The main character also made me infuriated with her behavior because she acted so stupid at times, which was the main reason why I DNF-ed this book.Like she drank the tea at the headquarters even though she knew it might be poisoned???
She also did absolutely nothing worth mentioning (which I guess was kind of the point?) except for hiding R, but even that seemed so random and rushed to me, because literally no one except for her knew that he remembered things?? And he just threw his life away. The novel she was writing was also atrocious and her main character actually made me want to throw the whole book away.
Also the thing with the music box… It takes the main character and the old man some time to figure out what it is, because it had disappeared and they couldn’t remember it. But even a while after they listened to it and saw it, a while after them not seeing it anymore, the main character still talks about it and talks about how she can perfectly remember the whole melody. How is that even possible if the music box is disappeared and she supposedly doesn’t remember anything? It makes no sense. How are they able to hear the music from the music box, but are not able to smell the perfume from the perfume bottle that had disappeared?? It’s a huge plot hole, and it makes zero sense.
The main character also made me infuriated with her behavior because she acted so stupid at times, which was the main reason why I DNF-ed this book.
She also did absolutely nothing worth mentioning (which I guess was kind of the point?) except for hiding R, but even that seemed so random and rushed to me, because literally no one except for her knew that he remembered things?? And he just threw his life away. The novel she was writing was also atrocious and her main character actually made me want to throw the whole book away.
I was SO excited going into this, but now I’m just so disappointed. I did like the style of writing though, and I enjoyed the way everything was narrated in this sort of hazy light, just like the main character was perceiving the world around her. But for me personally, this book just lacked depth and A LOT of world-building. Maybe I will pick it up again someday because I do really like the concept of the book, but I just think it was poorly executed. It’s a shame though, because I really enjoy Ogawa’s writing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Violence, Police brutality, and Death of parent
thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Once again Yoko Ogawa has spun an amazing, hard-to-put-down novel.
This book starts out as very intriguing, turns sombre, then ends down right depressing.
It took a while to read this book as I felt I had to absorb every single word, but once the typewriter story began, I couldn't stop lapping up the words and story.
Could we live in a world where things just disappear from existence and our memories, particularly if someone just didn't want it in their life? Alternatively, this may be how having Alzheimer's or any other permanent memory loss may feel.
This book starts out as very intriguing, turns sombre, then ends down right depressing.
It took a while to read this book as I felt I had to absorb every single word, but once the typewriter story began, I couldn't stop lapping up the words and story.
Could we live in a world where things just disappear from existence and our memories, particularly if someone just didn't want it in their life? Alternatively, this may be how having Alzheimer's or any other permanent memory loss may feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Self harm, Slavery, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent