Reviews

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

nic_na's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

caitli's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

I enjoyed this book, but after I finished I felt dissatisfied - left with more questions than answers. 

 

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

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

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

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

slow-paced

3.75

dykelberg's review against another edition

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

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

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

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