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calarco 's review for:
The Memory Police
by Yōko Ogawa
If George Orwell’s [b:1984|40961427|1984|George Orwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532714506l/40961427._SX50_.jpg|153313] and Franz Kafka’s [b:The Metamorphosis|485894|The Metamorphosis|Franz Kafka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359061917l/485894._SY75_.jpg|2373750] had an uncomfortable baby, then that is about the closest I could come to quickly summarizing Yōko Ogawa’s [b:The Memory Police|37004370|The Memory Police|Yōko Ogawa|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544335119l/37004370._SY75_.jpg|7310932]. As far as sci-fi thrillers go, this one is pretty amazing.
The story centers on a young female novelist living on an island where things disappear. One day something mundane disappears like hats; everyone must go burn their hats in the community center. But more insidious, the very memory of what a “hat” is fades from public and personal memory. This process continues as more and more begins to disappear, including items ranging from roses to photographs. When the Memory Police erase something from the island, it stays erased.
As this new normal sets in, there a few individuals who seem to be immune to loosing their memories. These are the ones hunted down by the Memory Police, for so long as they live, their work is not finished. The main character’s editor happens to be one of these people. She hides him in a hidden passage within her home, and everyone struggles to live and stay sane another day.
The pacing of this plot starts slow, but once the tension begins to build, the pace races forward at exponentially increasing speeds. I simply could not put the book down once I reached the halfway point. Especially as the story is intercut with the main character’s own novel about a typist. This story within the story informs and is informed by the “real life” events in surprising ways that really builds the novel’s tension. This interplay actually reminded me of Haruki Murakami’s duel storyline in [b:Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World|10374|Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399844477l/10374._SY75_.jpg|2531870], which from me is the highest of praise.
There are so many questions that this novel invokes, notably surrounding the power of memory. When authoritarian regimes roll in, they have a tendency to impose their reality in the most exacting of ways, typically re-writing history in the process. The regime doesn’t want you to trust what you see; only what they tell you is allowed to be “real.” So what if they had the power to forcibly remove ideas from peoples’ minds? What would be left? How far could they push it?
These questions and more are explored by the novel’s end. I’m still struck by that final tone, but damnit if this isn’t a great novel. I definitely recommend it, especially if you are looking for something a little more cerebral.
Rating: 4.5 stars
The story centers on a young female novelist living on an island where things disappear. One day something mundane disappears like hats; everyone must go burn their hats in the community center. But more insidious, the very memory of what a “hat” is fades from public and personal memory. This process continues as more and more begins to disappear, including items ranging from roses to photographs. When the Memory Police erase something from the island, it stays erased.
As this new normal sets in, there a few individuals who seem to be immune to loosing their memories. These are the ones hunted down by the Memory Police, for so long as they live, their work is not finished. The main character’s editor happens to be one of these people. She hides him in a hidden passage within her home, and everyone struggles to live and stay sane another day.
The pacing of this plot starts slow, but once the tension begins to build, the pace races forward at exponentially increasing speeds. I simply could not put the book down once I reached the halfway point. Especially as the story is intercut with the main character’s own novel about a typist. This story within the story informs and is informed by the “real life” events in surprising ways that really builds the novel’s tension. This interplay actually reminded me of Haruki Murakami’s duel storyline in [b:Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World|10374|Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399844477l/10374._SY75_.jpg|2531870], which from me is the highest of praise.
There are so many questions that this novel invokes, notably surrounding the power of memory. When authoritarian regimes roll in, they have a tendency to impose their reality in the most exacting of ways, typically re-writing history in the process. The regime doesn’t want you to trust what you see; only what they tell you is allowed to be “real.” So what if they had the power to forcibly remove ideas from peoples’ minds? What would be left? How far could they push it?
These questions and more are explored by the novel’s end. I’m still struck by that final tone, but damnit if this isn’t a great novel. I definitely recommend it, especially if you are looking for something a little more cerebral.
Rating: 4.5 stars