Reviews

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

andrewmull2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is wild. I am sitting here a day later after finishing it and still parsing the whole of the meaning(s). The plot is just a crawl, the characters are pretty flat and mostly unnamed, there is no resolution, but something about the vibe is just... there. The meaning is looming just out of reach I think, but you can feel it. And I have to stress it is mostly developed in the last 20 pages, most of the book is incredibly slow and mundane until that point. 

The big takeaway to me are something like societies of control. The perceived threat of violence makes people eager and able to imprison themselves. The slow creep of control makes society accept things that are unacceptable.  And the the final disappearances give a glimpse of experiencing a loss such as a cancer battle or alzhiemers.

This book was thought-provoking, dreadful, and really stays with you 

mysteriesofmar's review

4.0

still don’t 100% understand what happened but definitely enjoyed myself regardless!!

mackplank30's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was incredibly bleak. Just dripping with despair and tragedy, but in a slow, calm and accepting way. It had moments of joy but there is no happy ending and there really couldn’t have been. The writing did feel a bit slow until closer to the end, but I don’t think this was too bad of a thing. You are filled with a sad acceptance of the fate of the characters. The relationship between particularly the narrator and the old man is really touching and sweet. 

thebookwasbetter_22's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.25

rookiestarwing's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

isakyaki's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

hallie_hey's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-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? Yes

3.0

I really enjoyed sections of this book, but overall I felt a little lost. 

tamzin_johanson's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

A different kind of story than I normally read. I really enjoyed the diverse perspective it offered  and the dystopian land it created. Really pops off towards the second half.

thundrflap's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

daniellop's review against another edition

4.0

A pesar de ser una obra con una premisa muy interesante, no busca tanto darle una razón de ser a su mundo sino profundizar en la cuestión de lo que es la memoria y los recuerdos.

Mi única pega es que muchas veces el ritmo decae algo, tiene partes que te invitan a lee y otras que volverte a poner con el libro se te hace un mundo. Pero creo que en general bastante bien, con ganas de leer más obras de la autora.