The Memory Police: A Novel

I read the novel based on a short mention in the NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW podcast. I had no background or information about the author. The novel started well but by the end I was glad to have it done. It didn't click for me and when I thought that I understood her central thesis, I felt it could have been more powerfully stated. So I gave it a generous 3-star rating.THEN I read Motoko Rich's review in the NY TIMES, and things suddenly fell into place. Knowing a bit about the huge influence Anne Frank had on Ogawa, about revisionist Japanese history and the problems often faced by those who contradict the official version, and other key insights provided by Rich made everything make sense. Then it became a 5-star book.So I really encourage potential buyers to look up Rich's review. Armed with a bit of background, I think you will like the book so much more.

To me, there is a distinctive Japanese literary voice, matching the elegance of the paper, calligraphy, silkscreens, etc. This novel speaks in that voice, with careful description, deep internal tapestry among the protagonists, sparely drawn sentences, and delicate atmospherics of weather, food and nature. The Memory Police seems Borgesian, though, in the way it asks us to explain the meaning of the objects that we surround ourselves with, the relationship we have to power, and the meaning of loss. The novel within the novel is horrifying, but the overall message is one of entropy. The central fact is that we surrender to it, like it or not, Memory Police or not. I loved the translation, though I can't comment based on my reading of Japanese. It just felt authentic and faithful. Well worth reading.

i loved the idea of this book. i also enjoyed the atmosphere/setting of the book, at least in the beginning. and then i began to feel that the author was almost purposely keeping the book "dull" as a technique to add filters to the story. but for me, i kept looking for places for the book to heighten and deepen, and it never happened. when the book finally did escalate, it did so very quickly (duh) and without depth. one moment we are loosing the memory of feathers and emeralds (so poetic!) and then suddenly the loses escalate to body parts and then BAM the story is over. it's not a book i'll keep on my shelf, but i am passing it on for others to read. perhaps it was unfair of me to want the book to produce something i wanted rather than me accepting what the book was offering.

The Memory Police was beyond disappointing. A dystopian novel doesn't have to be completely demoralizing, but this book is. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll be intentionally vague. The beauty of the classic novels to which this one is compared provide a ray of hope within the trying circumstances the people face (Fahrenheit 451, 1984...); this one is a prescription for feeling misery. If that's your thing, this is your book. You will leave it feeling that the writer has a pleasant style of writing but that the story is horrible. I'm not sure what the point of writing something this depressing is. If you have trouble feeling bad about life but are looking for something to get you there, this is your ticket....

Wonderful novel. The scariest thing about it is the complacency of the inhabitants of the island. If you want to know what I'm talking about, read the book. We, the people living in the USA, seem to have a similar problem. We tend to forget recent history. On the other hand, it can be dangerous to remind our fellow citizens about the not so distant past and what a profound impact it has made on our current lives. We, too, have memory police, they are the members of the entertainment industry.

Dream like, more Murakami than Orwell (despite being pointed out), this intriguing novel quietly makes a reader aware of the importance of memory and identity. I didn't realize until after finishing it that it was written 25 years ago, thinking that its timeliness and lack of technological elements was to underscore the overall theme of oppression by the state. The narrator, unnamed, lives on an island one would presume off the coast of Japan, still plying her trade as a novelist despite the fact that items are disappearing not only from their physicality but also from the collective memory. As the disappearances become more and more serious, the passivity of the residents as personified by our narrator are more and more disquieting. This raised several areas of possible discussion. The case of the frog being put into the pan of water that is heated incrementally not noticing that fact until it is too late? Or negation of the Falkner observation that "The past isn't dead. It's not even past." Much to provoke the imagination here.

Gradually memories are being erased. The people on the island no longer know what a 'rose' is, they cannot recall the smell and have no choice but to destroy each rose, so that they also cease to exist physically.If you are one of the fortunate few who do not lose your memories the Memory Police will hunt you down. The narrator, a novelist, worries for her editor's safety and is desperate to help.If your memories cease to exist are the things themselves extinct?I love dystopian science fiction and this one was extremely thought provoking. Whilst this was NOT a gripping page turner, I could imagine studying it in an English Literature class, largely due to the inclusion of the narrator's own novel within the book which makes you question the meaning behind it. The story the narrator writes made me think of Angela Carter's short stories."If you read a novel to the end, then it's over. I would never want to do something as wasteful as that. I'd much rather keep it here with me, safe and sound, forever."

When I first started reading this I just think that I maybe weren’t in the mood as I found it hard to get into. I’m so glad I persisted as this is a great book. The way the main story is connected with the lead characters novel she is writing is genius. One thing I will say is don’t read this if you are looking for a ‘feel good’ story. Please note the only reason I’ve not given it 4 stars is that it took a while to grab me. Maybe il read it again one day and adjust the rating.

I am writing this at the end of January 2021 from UK. I give the book 4 stars because though the story is engrossing and has impact, it has little joy.It brought to my mind the eagerness with which so many are demanding the further removal of rights and surrendering to the ongoing necessity of Lockdown which itself, us causing a great deal if pain to many - my children included.But we mustn't argue just as the populace doesn't in this tale.

I really liked it. Like a riddle the story isn't easy to comprehend. It's very beautiful in a cool, gentle but utterly hopeless way. I prefer to feel this book than try to explain it. It feels like.. Goodbye beautiful world that humans f***ed up, hello nothingness.

... so it’s a good read.I’ve got so much to think about once I close the book after reaching the last page, the final sentence. Why do we need memory? If the things were not there in the first place, how could we know the things? And the next question is: why do we need to remember “things”, “stuffs”?Then, alas, what will be that intangible emotion I attach to some things, people, places that have a special place in my heart? That every time I remember, I’ll go “ahhhh”.That is the special bonus you’ll get after reading the book - reflect.Like any dystopian story, but wait, I rather think this is utopian, it’s not the lost of the memories, but to the treasure the protagonist felt for one old man and R.This is a story that’ll make you sit up and think about things, people and places you would cherish, not own.