Reviews

Unfortunately, you never do find out what's going on with the island, why things disappear or how the Memoru Police cam to be. For me, the background really makes a distopian book like this shine, but the characters and their relationships were really more of a focus - I do wonder if part of this is related to the style of literature, but a little more world building would have helped me enjoy it more.

I did however really enjoy the story within the story, and how it reflected what was happening to the main character and the way the island disappearances affected her and other's lives.

scyhota's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.0

gnft's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

3.25

milktxa's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

3.25

Read a little bit like murakami so I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it, but proved better than murakami.

It was such a subtle and slow paced book, I really enjoyed it but it was so weird and a little hard to understand.

The representation of a world without memories is one that is in shambles was done nicely and just so sad in cumulation

thinesbda's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.75

dykelberg's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This has made my sentimental hoarding so much worse.

I loved that we never learn the old man or R's names. It speaks to how we can forget and lose parts of each other, but what can remain are feelings such as fondness and love for each other.

A bit more surreal than I anticipated, but I thought it worked well in allowing the reader to feel as alienated as our characters. What felt unique was how I accepted this mystery along with the narrator. I'm usually bothered by unanswered endings but it felt natural in this reflection.

skvm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

kathryn_hallows's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

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