The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
The rundown: On an island off an unknown coast, objects are disappearing, followed by the memory of those objects. At first these objects are small things, easily forgotten, then more significant. Most of the island’s inhabitants are oblivious to these disappearances, but the few who remember are terrified of the mysterious Memory Police, who are determined to ensure that what has been forgotten remains so and of disappearing themselves.
The review: I enjoyed the experience of reading this book; I really enjoyed it towards the end; and I have appreciated it even more as I’ve gained distance from and been able to reflect more upon it. I think that it may seem deceptively simple at first read: all vibes, no plot (which really just means very character-driven); a straightforward premise; no build-up to some major third-act conflict.
Oh, how I enjoyed uncovering the layers Ogawa weaves into this story. I found it so affecting that much of the book feels quite pleasant, almost comforting. For as horrifying as the premise is, there is a marked lack of misery. The language Ogawa employs expresses this and so do the quietly domestic moments she writes in: walking your newly adopted dog, celebrating an old friend’s birthday. But then you start to consider the objects forgotten, and the calm becomes eerie, slowly suffocating. You start to wonder if the residents in this notably unknown time and unknown place have perhaps forgotten how to despair of their circumstances. And THAT is truly terrifying.
I also appreciated the many ways in which the themes of art and memory are intertwined, wound so tightly up in each other they form a Gordian knot. Not only does the memory of novels, the main character’s art of choice, disappear, but the characters in her novels also have lost some vital sense, a reflection of the reality which she, the MC, is living in. Both of these things - art and memory, specifically the act of remembering - are depicted as impermanent and also as subversive. There are so many layers to tease apart in this novel, and I’ve enjoyed how it has stuck around in my memory (ha) months after I finished it.
Goes well with: I recommend Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Tonally different but thematically very similar.