ek4therin4h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Sexual violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death
samanthaig's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is such a beautiful novel. I love how the world wasn’t explained - It kind of reminds me of Broken April. This will be a reread
Spoiler
why were the memory police doing what they were doing? No clue, other than the need for power/control. So with the characters not fighting back against them, that fact made the world even more haunting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Rape
clarabooksit's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Sexual assault
theliteraryhooker's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
While this is a very slow burn of a novel, the emotional impact it conveys is next level. Multiple times I had to set this book aside because it was just breaking my heart. A very non-traditional dystopian novel that is all the more effective for its unique approach to topics like fascism, humanity, society and love. Highly recommend giving this a read, but be prepared for the emotional toll it will take.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Minor: Police brutality, Death of parent, and Animal death
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: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexual content
baileyt2424's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Grief, and Police brutality
litprof's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Cleverly conceived and thought-provoking premise that invites consideration of how easily we accept shocking new realities; poignantly written to draw the reader into the horrifying speculative island. Still relevant, almost 20 years after publication.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality
mlewis's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
I have more complicated feelings about this than I expected to, as taken as I was with “The Cafeteria in the Evening and a Pool in the Rain,” a short story of Ogawa’s published about a decade after this novel was.
The prose often felt flat to me, and I wonder whether it's because -- at the risk of sharing too much and in an odd venue -- I've spent the pandemic feeling an increasing sense of derealization. I think this novel was doing something that I didn't appreciate until too close to the end, a feeling reinforced by reading “How ‘The Memory Police’ Makes You See,” a great review by Jia Tolentino. I’m also still learning to read deeply, and may still struggle with the stylistic choice to give a narrator a diegetic voice that doesn’t resonate with me immediately.
I think it’s still a great testament to a book’s force that you know you’ll continue thinking about it and want to revisit it, even if you can’t speak glowingly of it right away.
The prose often felt flat to me, and I wonder whether it's because -- at the risk of sharing too much and in an odd venue -- I've spent the pandemic feeling an increasing sense of derealization. I think this novel was doing something that I didn't appreciate until too close to the end, a feeling reinforced by reading “How ‘The Memory Police’ Makes You See,” a great review by Jia Tolentino. I’m also still learning to read deeply, and may still struggle with the stylistic choice to give a narrator a diegetic voice that doesn’t resonate with me immediately.
I think it’s still a great testament to a book’s force that you know you’ll continue thinking about it and want to revisit it, even if you can’t speak glowingly of it right away.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Minor: Body horror
chaos_animates'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Grief
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Rape
ko_rax's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Police brutality