jamie_reads_stuff's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is so sad but so heartwarming. It’s such a beautiful take on trauma, memory, and existence with a larger context of mass manipulation and dystopian police brutality. Something about the book to me was really heart warming about just people living their day to day lives in unfathomable consequences. That being said there’s like super minimal plot, but if you want to read it for the vibes, definitely do so!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Body horror, and Gaslighting
Iwinterlily's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
UPDATE #2:
While this book isn't technically a "favorite" in the way which I'd be in love with the characters and absorbed in their world. I can't rate this anything leas than 5 stars.
UPDATE:
[ I've sat with it a little longer and seen other people's reactions and I now have an even stronger appreciation for this book. The text is quiet and slow paced, but it's also alive and screaming. I don't think everyone will appreciate the format, but it really spoke to me. So much is written in subtext and to be understood and explored by the reader. This novel is so well crafted and I'm blown away that Ogawa was able to accomplish this tone and effect and still capture the beauty of humanity.
More and more I appreciate the ending and the choice of the slow, violent progression to the conclusion. Someone else wrote here in a review that the real terror of the novel comes from us having to continue reading the story although It is much more profound this way and is the first time a story has broken me like that. Perhaps there was nothing that could change things past a certain point, perhaps our characters alone couldn't do it. Maybe it's wrong to expect them to sacrifice their lives to resistance?
I think the most important aspect of this book might be the refrain from making this book a fantasy or adventure about courageously overcoming the Memory police. Instead, the novel sits entrenched in the horror and sees the story to conclusion. The sense of normalcy and adaptation of the community is terrifying. The fact that life goes on is terrifying. It's a type of tragedy I've never read before but it's one I think we're all living in a version of.
It left me with questions of what I expected from the protagonists. What should be expected from me If I was in their position? What is reasonable to expect of others? When one is powerless, what is there to do? Is there dignity in just surviving? What checks failed for this to happen and how could it have been prevented? How close are we to this now? Is it already too late?
I think it will be very natural for most of us to feel dissatisfied that we never got answers to the mysteries or that but the point of this book was never to satisfy the reader. This was definitely a case where I expected to go on an adventure in the fiction but was instead left questioning why I would look for escape in a setting such as this. At the very least, I know I will always be grateful for this depiction of trauma
Another thing I wanted to mention is that it might take several reads or more consideration for some readers used to the western perspective to fully appreciate the text!
- I really liked rincey read's youtube review on this The Memory Police! ]
Wow, this got me out of a decade long reading slump. I struggle to have words for this book. It was extremely emotional at times and at others I was pushed to that deeply sad state of the calm acceptance similar to the main character in the book. I adore the writing of this book- it's not needlessly complicated or convoluted. It's beautiful and intentional - the type of writing that flows so well in your mind that the story seems to play like a movie in your head. The Memory Police has a lot of special and unexpected qualities to it- the heartwarming depiction of platonic friendship and love, normal people instead of chosen one/super important characters, and a silent depiction of trauma that hit deep.
I was surprised that the novel within the novel was so mesmerizing and disturbing to me, the ending and the actions of the woman are still haunting me. I might want to read analysis on the book to see if there are any specific issues the book touched on that I didn't pick up on but the themes are unmistakable and extremely relevant. I will say that the beginning of the book was an unquestionable 5 stars for me, middle slowed down and was a 4 stars, and the ending brought it back to 4 point something. I'm a little dissatisfied that most of my questions never got answers but I understand why Ogawa wrote it that way. The foreshadowing and laying of plot details was so good! I was so impressed with the way that information was revealed and later made relevant. I grew up really loving books like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, and this book easily stands among or above them as a cautionary tale and retaliation against oppression and totalitarianism.
The "tropes" felt familiar but then I realized it was the "tropes" of oppression, totalitarianism, and surveillance that were the same, that all these books are fighting the same evil. The last note to my stream of consciousness review is that this book really resonated with me because of my memory loss and disabilities too. The trauma of having something important indiscriminately taken away from you and having to live with a new normal without knowing what you've lost is an open wound for me & definitely explored in the book, if not in this context.
If you're interested in the book, you should read it. Everyone will walk away with some important to carry with them.
While this book isn't technically a "favorite" in the way which I'd be in love with the characters and absorbed in their world. I can't rate this anything leas than 5 stars.
UPDATE:
[ I've sat with it a little longer and seen other people's reactions and I now have an even stronger appreciation for this book. The text is quiet and slow paced, but it's also alive and screaming. I don't think everyone will appreciate the format, but it really spoke to me. So much is written in subtext and to be understood and explored by the reader. This novel is so well crafted and I'm blown away that Ogawa was able to accomplish this tone and effect and still capture the beauty of humanity.
More and more I appreciate the ending and the choice of the slow, violent progression to the conclusion. Someone else wrote here in a review that the real terror of the novel comes from us having to continue reading the story although
Spoiler
the characters don't resist or try to change their fates.I think the most important aspect of this book might be the refrain from making this book a fantasy or adventure about courageously overcoming the Memory police. Instead, the novel sits entrenched in the horror and sees the story to conclusion. The sense of normalcy and adaptation of the community is terrifying. The fact that life goes on is terrifying.
Spoiler
The fact that no one comes to save them is terrifying.It left me with questions of what I expected from the protagonists. What should be expected from me If I was in their position? What is reasonable to expect of others? When one is powerless, what is there to do? Is there dignity in just surviving? What checks failed for this to happen and how could it have been prevented? How close are we to this now? Is it already too late?
I think it will be very natural for most of us to feel dissatisfied that we never got answers to the mysteries or that
Spoiler
the characters weren't able to save themselves,Another thing I wanted to mention is that it might take several reads or more consideration for some readers used to the western perspective to fully appreciate the text!
- I really liked rincey read's youtube review on this The Memory Police! ]
Wow, this got me out of a decade long reading slump. I struggle to have words for this book. It was extremely emotional at times and at others I was pushed to that deeply sad state of the calm acceptance similar to the main character in the book. I adore the writing of this book- it's not needlessly complicated or convoluted. It's beautiful and intentional - the type of writing that flows so well in your mind that the story seems to play like a movie in your head. The Memory Police has a lot of special and unexpected qualities to it- the heartwarming depiction of platonic friendship and love, normal people instead of chosen one/super important characters, and a silent depiction of trauma that hit deep.
I was surprised that the novel within the novel was so mesmerizing and disturbing to me, the ending and the actions of the woman are still haunting me. I might want to read analysis on the book to see if there are any specific issues the book touched on that I didn't pick up on but the themes are unmistakable and extremely relevant. I will say that the beginning of the book was an unquestionable 5 stars for me, middle slowed down and was a 4 stars, and the ending brought it back to 4 point something. I'm a little dissatisfied that most of my questions never got answers but I understand why Ogawa wrote it that way. The foreshadowing and laying of plot details was so good! I was so impressed with the way that information was revealed and later made relevant. I grew up really loving books like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, and this book easily stands among or above them as a cautionary tale and retaliation against oppression and totalitarianism.
The "tropes" felt familiar but then I realized it was the "tropes" of oppression, totalitarianism, and surveillance that were the same, that all these books are fighting the same evil. The last note to my stream of consciousness review is that this book really resonated with me because of my memory loss and disabilities too. The trauma of having something important indiscriminately taken away from you and having to live with a new normal without knowing what you've lost is an open wound for me & definitely explored in the book, if not in this context.
If you're interested in the book, you should read it. Everyone will walk away with some important to carry with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Police brutality, Medical content, Ableism, Blood, and Death
lindseyhall44's review
dark
slow-paced
- 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? No
4.0
*This was the first book I read for Women in Translation Month (August)!
“Men who start by burning books end by burning other men.”
The Memory Police is a grim dystopic novel, exploring an island dominated by the memory police, a government entity working to destroy historical objects and their recollection in humankind. Defying the memory police can mean death, but our narrator does so, in order to protect her editor-a man who does not forget-from the memory police.
As someone who read 1984 for high school English, I believe this novel would have made an amazing substitute. Both books hold a similar eerie and almost bleak mood, and the corrupt government organization is shared as well. The Memory Police stands out, however, through the utilization of the novel as a form. Also, not to mention that the women in 1989 are written with many stereotypes.
Overall, I would highly recommend for any dystopia fans, and I look forward to picking up The Housekeeper and the Professor in the future.
As always please check trigger warnings before reading!
“Men who start by burning books end by burning other men.”
The Memory Police is a grim dystopic novel, exploring an island dominated by the memory police, a government entity working to destroy historical objects and their recollection in humankind. Defying the memory police can mean death, but our narrator does so, in order to protect her editor-a man who does not forget-from the memory police.
As someone who read 1984 for high school English, I believe this novel would have made an amazing substitute. Both books hold a similar eerie and almost bleak mood, and the corrupt government organization is shared as well. The Memory Police stands out, however, through the utilization of the novel as a form. Also, not to mention that the women in 1989 are written with many stereotypes.
Overall, I would highly recommend for any dystopia fans, and I look forward to picking up The Housekeeper and the Professor in the future.
As always please check trigger warnings before reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death
junheechuu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence
savvylit's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The atmosphere in The Memory Police is palpably unsettling. Not only are the members of the unnamed island community forced to rid themselves of "disappeared" items but they also lose all memory or concept of the items. For instance, the narrator recounts how at one point, all hats are disappeared. Later on, she notes a person wearing an odd object on their head while struggling to recognize it as a hat.
At its core, this novel is a terrifying parable about the extreme duress and gaslighting inherent in police states. The citizens of the island are constantly surveilled by the titular memory police. Folks who have retained memories of the disappeared items are forcibly taken away from the community to meet unknown fates. Such scenes are all too accurately reminiscent of the treatment of radicals during extreme fascist regimes. Perhaps that's the scariest aspect of this novel - the way that Ogawa's dystopian world closely mirrors our own reality.
At its core, this novel is a terrifying parable about the extreme duress and gaslighting inherent in police states. The citizens of the island are constantly surveilled by the titular memory police. Folks who have retained memories of the disappeared items are forcibly taken away from the community to meet unknown fates. Such scenes are all too accurately reminiscent of the treatment of radicals during extreme fascist regimes. Perhaps that's the scariest aspect of this novel - the way that Ogawa's dystopian world closely mirrors our own reality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, and Police brutality
bonnienoire's review
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Ableism
Moderate: Dementia and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault and Infidelity
tiennguyen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Police brutality, and Death
Minor: Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
nila's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
My feelings on the book hasn't quite landed yet. On one hand, it's an original and interesting story, but on the other hand there's a vagueness to the plot that I'm not sure I like... The whole book is beautifully written as well, so it's still a joy to read it, but I just wanted more answers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual content
pclairx's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
More...