The Memory Police

art and memory are really so deeply intertwined

a strange story but eerie and hauntingly beautiful all the same — what does it mean to be the one who forget things (and what does it mean to be someone with the burden of memory)? the pervasive fear of the police throughout, the surveillance state, how people persisted regardless. it made me think a little harder about things that disappear, what keeps them here, and how those kinds of stories get told.

‣ When the voice that links the body to the soul vanishes, there is no way to put into words one’s feelings or will. [page. 155]

This was not at all what I expected. A pleasant read for sure, but it still left me wanting in so many aspects.

Let's start with the plot. We have our protagonist, the narrator, who lives on an island where things keep disappearing, not physically, but from the minds of those who inhabit the island. They have no recollection or feelings towards disappeared things, and are made to dispose of any trace of them, a rule strongly implemented by the memory police.

But there are a few people on the island who don't seem to be affected by the disappearances, and who's lives are in danger because of that. When it's discovered the narrator's editor, R, is one of these people, she decides to hide him, with the help of the old man, before the memory police can get to him.

The plot was so interesting and there were so many routes it could have taken and I would have loved to see explored, but it went with what I would say was the strangest route. I still have a lot of questions and feel a little disappointed that the book didn't dig deeper into what is such a unique story.

I did enjoy the parallels between the story and the novel the narrator was writing. It really gave a better look into her internal turmoil. The translation of the book I read was very easy to follow and nicely written (I hope it does the original text the justice it deserves).

The old man was my favourite character in the book, he really brought something special to it and his optimism no matter the circumstance was always so refreshing.

Despite enjoying it for the most part, I felt like the book was lacking in some areas, I would have loved to know more about the memory police, more history on the disappearances and to have spent more time with characters.

four stars because i liked the entire feel of the story. after checking out what other people said (as if they matter!) i guess i’m not an outlier when i thought about how boring the midpart of the book was. very very slow paced, with the worldbuilding as bare as bamboo stalks framing a shanty. but i suppose that’s the point of the book — you’re not meant to examine or scrutinize or parse the text too roughly (or deeply) as first read — what matters is how you feel while the characters’ memories and souls slowly dissipate. much can be said on how it parallels real life politics — the protagonist being a writer with her own protagonist having her voice taken away from her? on the nose — but much can also be said on how the book still feels universal despite that one pressing comparison. overall, i liked it but mostly because of the ending. the last few chapters alone atone for the slow pace. can’t wait to see lily gladstone in this.

uhhhhhhhhh… mmm okay!

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

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*

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.”

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.

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

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

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. 

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.

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.

Very interesting and well written but just too bleak for me

Fuck the (Memory) Police!

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

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

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.

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.