Yōko Ogawa

On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.

The Memory Police

aywen

How elegant I’ll feel, listening to music while I’m doing my little rituals, and how lucky I feel today, being here with you and celebrating a birthday at my age.

Marz 

"even if a memory disappears completely, the heart retains something. A slight tremor or pain, some bit of joy, a tear."

sazha 

Hati tidak memiliki bentuk dan batasan. Itulah sebabnya kau bisa memasukkan semua hal ke dalamnya. 

“No, don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt, and you won’t even be particularly sad. One morning you’ll simply wake up and it will be over, before you’ve even realized. Lying still, eyes closed, ears pricked, trying to sense the flow of the morning air, you’ll feel that something has changed from the night before, and you’ll know that you’ve lost something, that something has been disappeared from the island.”

Gemma McCarthy

"No, that's not really a problem. A heart has no shape, no limits. That's why you can put almost any kind of thing in it, why it can hold so much. It's much like your memory, in that sense."

"If you read a novel to the end, then it's over. I would never want to do something as waste- ful as that. I'd much rather keep it here with me, safe and sound, forever."

Laura

I may have managed to finish the story, but I'm still losing myself.

Aren't we together, right now, in spite of everything?

'Men who start by burning books end by burning other men,'

No one knows and no one needs to know. Time is a great healer. It just flows on all of its own accord.

"And what will happen if words disappear?" I whispered to myself, afraid that if I said it too loudly, it might come true.

taylor miles hopkins

…but at some point it vanished. I suppose, over time, that happened to lots of things, even without the disappearances.

I remembered. The pages of the book had opened and fluttered through the air just the way birds had once spread their wings and flown off to distant places. But this memory, too, was soon erased by the flames, leaving behind nothing but the burning night.

“A heart has no shape, no limits. That's why you can put almost any kind of thing in it, why It can hold so much. It's much like your memory, in that sense."

No matter how careful we are, we all leave behind little bits of ourselves as we go about our lives. 

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, an enthralling Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance from one of Japan's greatest writers. 'Beautiful... Haunting' Sunday Times 'A dreamlike story of dystopia' Jia Tolentino __________ Hat, ribbon, bird rose. To the people on the island, a disappeared thing no longer has any meaning. It can be burned in the garden, thrown in the river or handed over to the Memory Police. Soon enough, the island forgets it ever existed. When a young novelist discovers that her editor is in danger of being taken away by the Memory Police, she desperately wants to save him. For some reason, he doesn't forget, and it's becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide his memories. Who knows what will vanish next? __________ Finalist for the National Book Award 2019 Longlisted for the Translated Book Award 2020 New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year 'This timeless fable of control and loss feels more timely than ever' Guardian, Books of the Year 'Echoes the themes of George Orwell's 1984, but it has a voice and power all its own' Time 'A novel that makes us see differently... A masterpiece' Madeleine Thien

sina (she/her) 

Tascha | alllora

Eva Ströberg

The protagonist lives in a remote island, run by people called the “Memory Police”. Things disappear one by one in this island, from birds to books, from harmonica to hats. You never know what’s going to disappear next and it’s the Memory Police job to erase the existence of the remaining items in people’s possesion. They conduct raids, they confiscate things, they arrest people.
.
This book is very thought provoking. Can you so easily forget a memory? Even if you want to, or even when you fought so hard not to? Not everyone can forget easily of things that had existed and obviously they are seen as threats by Memory Police.
.
Three stars, again because I was looking for background and closures that I didn’t get. It felt so unfinished to me

Anna 

tohle mělo potenciál a hlubokou myšlenku. chápu, že ne všechny dystopian knihy musí být o hrdinovi, který zničí roky zajetý systém a bojuje proti režimu, jak jen může. ale když už ten worldbuilding nechce autorka rozebrat víc, když nechce vysvětlit, proč se děje, co se děje, nemuselo to mít skoro 300 stran. protože se tam vlastně nakonec vůbec nic nedělo.
jako povídka nebo novela by tohle bylo asi lepší.
.
edit: když jsem nad knihou přemýšlela delší dobu, vlastně se mi to líbilo víc, než jsem původně hodnotila. bylo záměrem, aby to bylo 'o ničem', aby se tam nic nedělo, protože hlavní postava byla obyčejná a nebojovala, což se postupně začalo projevovat a ovlivňovat její život. je to celý metafora na to 'být ovcí v režimu, se kterým je něco v nepořádku', ale i tak by to mohlo být lepší spíš ve formě povídky nebo novely. 
. 
nakonec přemýšlím nad 3,5/5*

armoni mayes

I absolutely loved this novel. I do not think I can even express how much i did, besides saying I would rate it 10 out of 5 stars. First, it’s beautifully written & fast paced (two of my favorite things). Second, I felt extremely connected to the main character, R, and the old man and genuinely cared about their future on this unnamed island. Although traumatic events and other things that life threw at the narrator she remained having a positive attitude, which is more than I think I could have in the situations she was put in. 
I also liked reading her manuscript throughout the original plot, which was just as creepy & unsettling.
The only plot hole, but maybe it’s the way the author intended it to be, was I am unsure how the memory police were choosing which items had to disappear.

My favorite quotes:

“A heart has no shape, no limits. That’s why you can put almost any kind of thing in it, why it can hold so much. It’s much like your memory, in that sense.”

“Your heart is doing everything it can to preserve its existence. No matter how many memories these men take away, they’ll never reduce it to nothing.”

“When the voice that links the body to the soul vanishes, there is no way to put into words one’s feelings or will. I am reduced to pieces in no time at all.”

Chourouk

Devoured this book. It’s beautifully written, with descriptions that were very intriguing and detailed (descriptions in some books can bore me to death, not this one though). It did leave me wanting for more and the questions that I had were not answered but it was beside the point. It really captures the feelings of loss and inability to act or rebel. The sense of self is both present and absent in the narration. A dystopian drama worth the read, it definitely brought some strong feelings to the surface. Can’t wait to read more of Yoko Ogawa’s work.

PS: I hate this habit of comparing non-Western literature to Western literature for the sake of making it more accessible, this is not an Orwellian book, it’s a Yoko Ogawa book. If you read it with Orwell in mind, then you’ll be deceived based on that same misleading expectation.

at first, apart from the gorgeous writing, i was really frustrated because i couldn’t understand why things disappeared. in my mind there was no logical explanation why this organisation, the memory police, would make such random things disappear out of the blue. 

as i continued reading i realised this is not exactly like orwell’s 1984 or bradburry’s fahrenheit 451. it doesn’t matter why exactly things disappear. the author conveys how it feels to lose everything and anything around you, leaving the world empty, barren. and writes a thought provoking ending (even though the entire book is thought provoking), where when everything around you disappears what is left of you. 

it really is a well written story that talks about loss and importance of mundane everyday items in our life. and how quickly we can lose ourselves even if we try to persevere. 

the ending made me quite sad, but i know that that was the only possible conclusion to be derived from the story like the memory police.

at first, apart from the gorgeous writing, i was really frustrated because i couldn’t understand why things disappeared. in my mind there was no logical explanation why this organisation, the memory police, would make such random things disappear out of the blue. 

as i continued reading i realised this is not exactly like orwell’s 1984 or bradburry’s fahrenheit 451. it doesn’t matter why exactly things disappear. the author conveys how it feels to lose everything and anything around you, leaving the world empty, barren. and writes a thought provoking ending (even though the entire book is thought provoking), where when everything around you disappears what is left of you. 

it really is a well written story that talks about loss and importance of mundane everyday items in our life. and how quickly we can lose ourselves even if we try to persevere. 

the ending made me quite sad, but i know that that was the only possible conclusion to be derived from the story like the memory police.

n an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses - until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with no power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath the floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her wiring as the last way of preserving the past.

A Novel

Alba Ramos

i was telling my mom the plot and she was like wow that's original, she made me tell her what happened in the end too so that's a win for me

a quiet kind of book that puts you in the mind of someone — both resigned and yet, subconsciously hopeful and determined. i sped through this one. tried to pace it out bc i felt i’d suck it all in even before my trip was done. and true enough,,,

the death of the old man had me close to tears. his quiet strength throughout the novel served as a stronghold for both the main character and, unwittingly, me. the ending events came one after the other, all at once. and i felt it!! the void and resolution. the grief !! 

Nat Wong

a quiet kind of book that puts you in the mind of someone — both resigned and yet, subconsciously hopeful and determined. i sped through this one. tried to pace it out bc i felt i’d suck it all in even before my trip was done. and true enough,,,

the death of the old man had me close to tears. his quiet strength throughout the novel served as a stronghold for both the main character and, unwittingly, me. the ending events came one after the other, all at once. and i felt it!! the void and resolution. the grief !! 

this one was something kind of special.

when i read the synopsis of the book i honestly expected smth way different than what actually happened but thats why i loved this book! it was unpredictable and very interesting and obviously i thought to myself what the actual point of this book even was but nonetheless i love how the author turned it into a very thought-provoking ending but my mind was literally empty after finishing this book and the few blank pages which came after the ending basically explained what was going on in my head

micki

The Memory Police was a highly anticipated read that unfortunately fell flat for me. Firstly, I wish I had paid more attention to the 'slow-paced' tag it would have saved me a lot of frustration. Despite being set in such a tense world, with the main character facing such high stakes, the story seemed to drag along. Even when serious events occurred it's as if they barely had an impact, giving a monotonous tone to the story as a whole. This made the book a chore to pick back up at times. 

The concept of this story is so unique but not well explored. While the book did heavily investigate how we tie memories to objects and how those objects no matter how mundane can hold so much meaning and function in our lives, other aspects of the story were not well explained at all. Who set up the memory police? why do they not lose the things that 'disappear', how do people join the memory police? What makes the things disappear? Why is it dangerous to remember things that disappear?  None of these questions are answered, and due to this, I feel like the message of this book was not effectively conveyed to me, all the insight I gained from this book feels quite shallow. It felt like the book was continuously building up to a grand event which never came. 

I did enjoy seeing the main character's writing inserted into the book, in fact, I was more invested in the story being told there than in the book itself, but these sections were far too long and could have been cut short to develop the main story more. Also, I can't buy that the main character was able to write a coherent end to her novel considering she no longer had her right arm or her memories of novels. It is just another way the storytelling falls short. 

Speaking of the characters, I don't the character writing was anything spectacular but the bond between the characters is what made the book bearable. I especially liked seeing the bond between the old man and the main character, it was very heartwarming. However, this is where my positives end. 

Overall this book feels like one big missed opportunity. 

The Memory Police was a highly anticipated read that unfortunately fell flat for me. Firstly, I wish I had paid more attention to the 'slow-paced' tag it would have saved me a lot of frustration. Despite being set in such a tense world, with the main character facing such high stakes, the story seemed to drag along. Even when serious events occurred it's as if they barely had an impact, giving a monotonous tone to the story as a whole. This made the book a chore to pick back up at times. 

The concept of this story is so unique but not well explored. While the book did heavily investigate how we tie memories to objects and how those objects no matter how mundane can hold so much meaning and function in our lives, other aspects of the story were not well explained at all. Who set up the memory police? why do they not lose the things that 'disappear', how do people join the memory police? What makes the things disappear? Why is it dangerous to remember things that disappear?  None of these questions are answered, and due to this, I feel like the message of this book was not effectively conveyed to me, all the insight I gained from this book feels quite shallow. It felt like the book was continuously building up to a grand event which never came. 

I did enjoy seeing the main character's writing inserted into the book, in fact, I was more invested in the story being told there than in the book itself, but these sections were far too long and could have been cut short to develop the main story more. Also, I can't buy that the main character was able to write a coherent end to her novel considering she no longer had her right arm or her memories of novels. It is just another way the storytelling falls short. 

Speaking of the characters, I don't the character writing was anything spectacular but the bond between the characters is what made the book bearable. I especially liked seeing the bond between the old man and the main character, it was very heartwarming. However, this is where my positives end. 

Overall this book feels like one big missed opportunity. 

Maria

i really enjoyed this overall. the writing is neat & really pulls you in. however, the general vagueness of the world-building and the plot itself - while managing to vividly add to the eeriness of the story and to make the general ambience more palpable - didn't really land either way for me. although i think this style is suitable, overall, for a story based on the premise of forgetting and things disappearing, i wish that this had been a more straightforward story in some parts. i do agree with most reviews that this was a quiet, introspective kind of dystopian novel, which is not a bad thing; i just itched for a little more of something.

Isabella 

this book is so interesting. very chilling and mysterious. got me thinking, "what is the point of this?" but i guess it's a very metaphorical book; a lot of interpretations can come up with this book. will be thinking about this for awhile bc it's quite scary in a way that some sort of stuff that happens in this book can and is happening in real life.

Elena Kuran

Very interesting and well written but just too bleak for me

Kimberly Gajitos

golde

my love for and fascination with deeply disturbing things need to be studied

Cait🪼

Yoko Ogawa writes with breathtaking attention to detail, so much so that you hardly notice how none of the characters are ever named (except pets). Ogawa crafts an identity for each individual, without labelling them - I grew to love the tender nature of 'the old man' and to sympathise with the protagonist's inability to hold on to her memories. It almost feels like an injustice to compare The Memory Police to Orwell's 1984 as Ogawa's dystopia is in a class of its own. 
The ending was heart-wrenching in the best possible way - I adored everything about this book.

interesting, captivating, easy to digest! left me feeling unsettled but so capturing and a great read

esther

It is a sad yet beautiful allegory on the inevitability of loss and the impermanence of memory. It delves into the somber realization that time washes through us like a crashing wave, along with our stories, our hopes and dreams.

James Bernabe

azliana aziz

some of the reviews here really be missing the whole point of ogawa's sangfroid narrative. why you want the sort of dark, edgy/punchy choked on misery narrative when you can do impermanence in the most gentle and serene way.

Cody Degen

The prose felt very, for lack of a better word, sparse, in a way that I felt matched the content of the book in a really successful way

mic shulman

good evening my heart feels hollow and broken

dnf at 58%. it was okay but then *minor spoiler alert* the main character kissed a guy whose wife just had a BABY and im really uncomfortable with reading anything about infidelity so. i lost interest immediately. it was also kinda boring that i actually considered dnf-ing before i even got to the kiss part. 2.5 stars rounded down to 2

diya

Dystopian at its finest, it was just a very strange little story. At first, trying to undertsand what and how it would all blend in together, what stood out the most was how something as small and insignificant as a flower petal has the potential to trigger a powerful memory. What irks you is how even in an Orwelian world, be it by brute force, or just plain submission, the crowd holds the power to everything. An easy flowing tone, gathering all the bits and pieces of the narrator's life, its all blends well. While it does bother me that by the end you're left with more questions than answers, sometimes, maybe its those moments and instances that makes an ending perfect?

Nicholas Barnard

a quiet and dream-like meditation on the dangers of forgetting and the capacity for kindness.

The Memory Police

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