The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
Set on an unnamed island, Yoko Ogawa’s novel follows an unnamed writer as she navigates her life around The Memory Police – a tyrannical group that has the authority to make anything and anyone disappear. Birds, roses, perfume, calendars; all these things no longer exist on the island, yet because the citizens can no longer remember them, they are not missed. Yet there are some who cannot forget and The Memory Police won’t rest until they too have disappeared. Interspersed with the narrator’s own novel – which has some uncomfortable parallels – about a typist who loses her voice, this is a cleverly crafted book that focuses on what we become as we slowly lose everything. But unlike other dystopian novels where we often see an uprising, the islanders are accepting of their fate. A thought-provoking read.
My favourite quote. ‘My memories don’t feel as though they’ve been pulled up by the root. Even if they fade, something remains. Like tiny seeds that might germinate again if the rain falls. And even if the memory disappears completely, the heart retains something. A slight tremor or pain, some bit of joy, a tear.’
My three-word review. Melancholic, ambiguous, dreamlike.
Imogen, Website team
