A review by emii_k
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.25

I liked this concept a lot, and the entire premise of the book was very interesting. But the ending was disappointing. It felt a bit rushed and almost of the blue, and I feel like the initial concept could’ve been taken a bit further and explored more especially in the last couple chapters. 

Too many ends were left loose, especially with what was going to happen to one of the main characters. It was just a bit too open ended for my liking, which honestly kind of ruined it for me unfortunately. A lot of things in the book were written with the ending in mind, which led to a lot of momentum being built up that the ending itself just didn’t deliver. 

And the infidelity that was just randomly thrown in???! That genuinely made no sense in my opinion, and although it could be argued that it was for the plot and character development, it felt so random and it was just another turn off in this book for me. It felt incredibly unnecessary, and just a bit gross honestly, considering that the guy HAD A WIFE AND A NEWBORN KID.

I really wanted to like this book, and some of the writing was beautiful but overall, no. It fell short for me. The more I think about this book the less positive things I can remember (I’ve also forgotten the main characters name).