Fiction

The Memory Police

The Memory Police

  • Downloads：5338
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-12 09:55:24
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Yōko Ogawa
  • ISBN：1784700444
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

A compelling speculative mystery by one of Japan's greatest writers。

Hat， ribbon， bird， rose。 To the people on the island， a disappeared thing no longer has any meaning。 It can be burned in the garden， thrown in the river or handed over to the Memory Police。 Soon enough， the island forgets it ever existed。

When a young novelist discovers that her editor is in danger of being taken away by the Memory Police， she desperately wants to save him。 For some reason， he doesn’t forget， and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide his memories。 Who knows what will vanish next？

The Memory Police is a beautiful， haunting and provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss， from one of Japan’s greatest writers。

Download

Reviews

Katherine ，

Beautifully written。 Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down。 It did leave me feeling uneasy and sad。 I was left me with so many questions。 Foremost， without memory， who are we。 Beautifully written。 Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down。 It did leave me feeling uneasy and sad。 I was left me with so many questions。 Foremost， without memory， who are we。 。。。more

Roye Julian Serrano ，

A dystopian novel with the overall concept of losing one's memories emulates Orwell and Murakami's style。 The timelessness of the story makes it such a compelling read。 Moreover， the book talks about totalitarianism， which is more of a concept than a physical aspect in this book， attacking one's sense of self and ideals。 A dystopian novel with the overall concept of losing one's memories emulates Orwell and Murakami's style。 The timelessness of the story makes it such a compelling read。 Moreover， the book talks about totalitarianism， which is more of a concept than a physical aspect in this book， attacking one's sense of self and ideals。 。。。more

Medusa ，

Another book I wanted to like but just couldn’t quite get there。 To be sure， there is beauty in this book， memorable characters， an atmospheric sense of unease。 The writer’s talents are obvious。 Shouldn’t that get this book at least three stars ？ But， no， not from me。 For me it lands as， at best， a threadbare Murakami style novel， ordered from Wish。 It is a book that not only doesn’t answer the fundamental “why” questions it invites， but seems never to consider that anyone would ask them。Kazuo I Another book I wanted to like but just couldn’t quite get there。 To be sure， there is beauty in this book， memorable characters， an atmospheric sense of unease。 The writer’s talents are obvious。 Shouldn’t that get this book at least three stars ？ But， no， not from me。 For me it lands as， at best， a threadbare Murakami style novel， ordered from Wish。 It is a book that not only doesn’t answer the fundamental “why” questions it invites， but seems never to consider that anyone would ask them。Kazuo Ishiguri’s The Buried Giant seems to me a far better take on some of the same themes - memory， grief， loss， identity。 。。。more

Samra Fatima Ayub ，

Loved the theme of this book and how flawlessly author has portrayed the characters of female protagonist ❤️

Jess ，

This short story is a master piece。 Ogawa deals with loss and oppression in an Orwellian dystopia of state surveillance through a powerfully quiet voice。 Just like he island's inhabitants， a shroud of sadness seeps through the pages in a reflection of complacency during a time of political turmoil and climate disruption making it just as prevalent now as it was when first published 20 years ago。The writing style is simple but beautifully crafted， making for an easy read which really helped as th This short story is a master piece。 Ogawa deals with loss and oppression in an Orwellian dystopia of state surveillance through a powerfully quiet voice。 Just like he island's inhabitants， a shroud of sadness seeps through the pages in a reflection of complacency during a time of political turmoil and climate disruption making it just as prevalent now as it was when first published 20 years ago。The writing style is simple but beautifully crafted， making for an easy read which really helped as the story gradually becomes darker。 I would have given it a 4/5 but the ending left me heart broken and wanting more。 Up until 3/4s of the way through， I really thought there was going to be a different ending but it made it all the more realistic and shattering for how it did end。 Definitely give this book a read if you want something thought provoking and a reminder of just how precious memories are。 Alternatively if you struggled with 1984 or Fahrenheit 451， read this first and it should help ease you in！ 。。。more

نورهان علام ，

سألتها قلقة:- هل الامر مخيف؟- كلا。 اطمئني، فلا هو بالمؤلم ولا بالمحزن。 تفتحين عينك صباحا في سريرك، فيكون ثمة شئ قد اختفى، من غير ان تلحظي اختفاءه。 حاولي البقاء ساكنة، عيناك مغمضتان، واذنك متيقظة، لكي تستشعري انسياب هواء الصباح。 ستشعرين ان شيئا ما تغير بين عشية وضحاها。 ستكتشفين انك قد اضعت الشئ الذي اختفى من الجزيرة。الفكرة جميلة جدا والبداية مشوقة بس مع الوقت الرواية بقيت مملة 。。 احداث قليلة ومتكررة مافيش جديد والنهاية كانت على نفس الرتم。。

bilkis ，

3。5， my only problem is that it was quite vague， i had a lot of “how” questions。 i would have loved more context

Z ，

Soft and haunting book。 Although published 25 years ago， the book remains relevant， timely， and thought provoking。

Nami Adelia ，

I was very intrigued by the concept， and It took my 3 tries to read it and now I finally have… It was slow paced and when I think about it not many significant things in this book that has an effect on the plot。。 some are very exciting but most are meh…

Juanma ，

• Jamás poseeremos por completo nuestra memoria， nunca seremos dueños de ella。 La memoria siempre será capaz de liberarse de nuestro férreo puño， que intenta agarrarla y retenerla。 Tampoco nos ofrecerá una prueba o evidencia de en qué consiste exactamente， qué guarda o qué forma tiene。• —¡A nadie se le puede borrar el recuerdo de una historia！• —Recuerdo haber leído o escuchado la siguiente cita: «Allí donde se queman los libros， se acaba quemando también personas» —dije。• Los personajes， como t • Jamás poseeremos por completo nuestra memoria， nunca seremos dueños de ella。 La memoria siempre será capaz de liberarse de nuestro férreo puño， que intenta agarrarla y retenerla。 Tampoco nos ofrecerá una prueba o evidencia de en qué consiste exactamente， qué guarda o qué forma tiene。• —¡A nadie se le puede borrar el recuerdo de una historia！• —Recuerdo haber leído o escuchado la siguiente cita: «Allí donde se queman los libros， se acaba quemando también personas» —dije。• Los personajes， como tantas veces ocurre， acabaron tomando su propio camino， empujando la historia hacia territorios remotos， más allá de lo que puede vislumbrar el propio escritor。• A pesar de la resignación con que me había acostumbrado a recibirlas， esta， en concreto， supuso especialmente un duro golpe para mí。 Desaparecieron las novelas。• Tú eres la misma que eras cuando escribías novelas。 Nada ha cambiado。 La única diferencia es que los libros han ardido y han desaparecido。 Las palabras， sin embargo， permanecen。 Las historias siguen vivas。• Por muy vivo que sea un recuerdo， nunca va a tener una existencia física y objetiva， jamás va a materializarse a la vista de nadie; habitará siempre en el ámbito de la subjetividad。 De ese modo， al igual que llegó， el recuerdo irá difuminándose hasta apagarse。• —Es inútil。 ¿No te das cuenta de que están a punto de caer en el olvido más profundo？ Incluso si conservamos el manuscrito y todos mis libros， para mí no serán más que unos objetos rectangulares y huecos como cajas vacías。 Los miraré， trataré de escucharlos， probaré a olerlos， pero no obtendré nada de ellos。 Y， en definitiva， ¿cómo voy a escribir si ni siquiera entiendo qué es lo que tengo entre manos？• —Aunque resulte paradójico， basta con imaginarlo。 No es necesario haberlo escuchado o visto， y tampoco hay que recrearlo de forma realista， sino que es suficiente con inventar una figuración verosímil， que bordea e incluso se adentra en el puro y llano embuste。• La noción de «novela» ha empezado a debilitarse y， en cuestión de horas， desaparecerá de la mente de las personas。• No creo que sean necesarias las desapariciones oficiales impuestas por la Policía de la Memoria para que objetos que nos han acompañado durante un tiempo más o menos largo vayan esfumándose paulatina y calladamente de nuestras vidas sin que lleguemos a percatarnos de ello。• Durante la clase， no tenéis voz。 Mientras presionáis las teclas， no habláis。 Tenéis que mantener toda la atención en el teclado。 ¿Sabes por qué？ Porque mientras que la voz sale libremente， los dedos tienen que seguir unas normas rígidas。• Posiblemente no había leído una novela en su vida y， muy posiblemente también， sería una de esas personas que tienen la desgracia de llegar al fin de sus días sin haber leído ninguna。 。。。more

Just This ，

On a small island in Japan， things （objects， words， ideas） are disappearing （or being disappeared）。 A writer writes a story about a typist who loses her voice。 This was a fun concept with echoes of Bradbury， Huxley et al， but I found the juxtaposition of such traditional sci-fi tropes with the very Japanese writing style & narration quite bizarre。

thntn ，

A study on the intersection of memory and loss， this book feels like setting out on the ocean in a tiny boat。 The waves， the peaks， are the "disappearances" that keep unexpectedly and unexplainably affecting the novel's setting， a small Japanese island。 Between the waves is a kind of soft rocking back and forth full of bits of hopefulness and beautiful prose。 There's some suspenseful moments with the authoritarian Memory Police early in the novel， but you come to realize there is some power perh A study on the intersection of memory and loss， this book feels like setting out on the ocean in a tiny boat。 The waves， the peaks， are the "disappearances" that keep unexpectedly and unexplainably affecting the novel's setting， a small Japanese island。 Between the waves is a kind of soft rocking back and forth full of bits of hopefulness and beautiful prose。 There's some suspenseful moments with the authoritarian Memory Police early in the novel， but you come to realize there is some power perhaps even greater than them behind what is happening on the island。 Something metaphysical and tragic。 This novel seemed to embrace the loneliest， emptiest part of me。 。。。more

Bruna ，

I felt that so sentimental book and sometimes I don't think this could be call a dystopian book， but has a criticism here， social， intense。。。 I liked。 I felt that so sentimental book and sometimes I don't think this could be call a dystopian book， but has a criticism here， social， intense。。。 I liked。 。。。more

Gebanuzo ，

Comencé el año con muchas ganas de leer mucho， y he tenido tropezones horripilantes， entre los ánimos y la vida misma， los tiempos， el sueño， pero， encontrarme con este libro， gracias a México Lector （ha sido una de las lecturas mensuales）， ha sido un suspiro grato y bello。 La policía de la memoria es una historia que se va desvaneciendo poco a poco， o por lo menos eso parece。 En una Isla donde las cosas van desapareciendo， y la memoria se va quedando con otras islas internas， se encuentran pais Comencé el año con muchas ganas de leer mucho， y he tenido tropezones horripilantes， entre los ánimos y la vida misma， los tiempos， el sueño， pero， encontrarme con este libro， gracias a México Lector （ha sido una de las lecturas mensuales）， ha sido un suspiro grato y bello。 La policía de la memoria es una historia que se va desvaneciendo poco a poco， o por lo menos eso parece。 En una Isla donde las cosas van desapareciendo， y la memoria se va quedando con otras islas internas， se encuentran paisajes， y momentos， de terror， pero que se narran de una forma tan bella que se vuelven como sueños agradables de imaginar， como a veces lo es la vida misma。 La memoria， cosa intrigante， complicada， selectiva y atormentadora a veces， ¿te has preguntado cómo funciona？ ¿o cómo se deteriora？， Ogawa probablemente trata de responder sus propias interrogantes a través de esta novela， en donde su protagonista， es una Novelista que lucha contra lo inevitable， perder todos sus recuerdos， y， escribir， también， una novela， una huella eterna en la isla， en el libro， y quizá ahora， en mi memoria。 。。。more

tina ，

4。5/5

Audrey ，

3。5 stars。 This was quieter than I expected it to be。 I still enjoyed it particularly the parallels between the novelists story and the main plot， but it didn't quite grab me in the way that I hoped。 3。5 stars。 This was quieter than I expected it to be。 I still enjoyed it particularly the parallels between the novelists story and the main plot， but it didn't quite grab me in the way that I hoped。 。。。more

Liz ，

Dystopian， strange， but enjoyable and compelling。

Marissa Seib ，

It is a good book。 It is a science non fiction dystopia kind of book。 Not my cup of tea。 I hated the ending。

Andrea ，

Such an interesting book。 I get what it was going for but I can't help but want another version of this story。 Such an interesting book。 I get what it was going for but I can't help but want another version of this story。 。。。more

Keef ，

Very much off the wall， it's more of an examination of forgetting than a story in the traditional sense。 If you want to read something both gentle and strange and aren't worried about your questions being answered， it's worth a punt。 Very much off the wall， it's more of an examination of forgetting than a story in the traditional sense。 If you want to read something both gentle and strange and aren't worried about your questions being answered， it's worth a punt。 。。。more

Lisse ，

Reminded me of the inescapable loss of autonomy， like how Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 did but less gripping。 Was hopeful until the end， however， left me with more questions。 A fresh take on dystopian novels nonetheless， and overall a good read。 Reminded me of the inescapable loss of autonomy， like how Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 did but less gripping。 Was hopeful until the end， however， left me with more questions。 A fresh take on dystopian novels nonetheless， and overall a good read。 。。。more

Ellie ，

I found this book quite disappointing。 There were too many inconsistencies for me to enjoy it。 Fruit disappeared at the end of chapter 12， but then in chapter 16 she mentioned that she wanted to buy fruit for a punch。。。 It didn’t make sense 🙄

Jean ，

this book started at a solid 1/5 because of the dry and （slightly？） pretentious writing style that wasn't for me。 it got better in the middle - was particularly drawn to the character of the old man and the rating got to a 2/5。 the book got muuuuch better in its last quarter and hence the aggregate rating of 3/5。 glad I stuck around to the end but im not sure if this will be immediately thought of if someone asks for a dystopian recommendation。 this book started at a solid 1/5 because of the dry and （slightly？） pretentious writing style that wasn't for me。 it got better in the middle - was particularly drawn to the character of the old man and the rating got to a 2/5。 the book got muuuuch better in its last quarter and hence the aggregate rating of 3/5。 glad I stuck around to the end but im not sure if this will be immediately thought of if someone asks for a dystopian recommendation。 。。。more

Getty Hesse ，

My thoughts on this novel are not fully formed， yet。 This is a dystopian novel， dealing with the terrors of state surveillance; it is also a surreal novel， in which an island loses things not just as physical objects， but as concepts and memories within the minds of the inhabitants。 In fact， once a "disappearance" takes place， the physical removal of the objects must be conducted by the inhabitants as a response to the existential loss of concept that has already occurred。 The two aspects of the My thoughts on this novel are not fully formed， yet。 This is a dystopian novel， dealing with the terrors of state surveillance; it is also a surreal novel， in which an island loses things not just as physical objects， but as concepts and memories within the minds of the inhabitants。 In fact， once a "disappearance" takes place， the physical removal of the objects must be conducted by the inhabitants as a response to the existential loss of concept that has already occurred。 The two aspects of the novel， the state surveillance dystopia and the surrealist meditation of loss， are intimately connected， but I am not altogether sure to what end。 Perhaps the author is trying to make a point about how authoritarian societies operate， at least in the psychologies of their populaces， but if so I don't know what that point is， or if it works thematically， or if it is at all accurate。But this is also one of the more haunting novels I have read in recent memory。 It is genuinely unsettling。 I suspect I will be thinking about it for a while， which is more than can be said for most novels。 。。。more

Jenn ，

Things started to disappear one by one at an unnamed island。 Once thing disappear the Memory Police will come to people house and destroying the trace that left behind。 People started to run away and hiding at safe house under ground。 What is going to happen？I kinda enjoyed reading the book but somehow I didnt like the ending much。

Anita ，

There is a lot going on in this beautifully written dystopian fiction novel。 Set in an unknown island location， things begin to disappear – not just physically but from most （although not all） people’s memories。 The “Memory Police” are the new government， controlling the citizen’s actions and memories。 The novel really looks at what memories inspire and what life would be like without them， as well as how agencies/governments can control people’s actions。 As more things disappear， people react l There is a lot going on in this beautifully written dystopian fiction novel。 Set in an unknown island location， things begin to disappear – not just physically but from most （although not all） people’s memories。 The “Memory Police” are the new government， controlling the citizen’s actions and memories。 The novel really looks at what memories inspire and what life would be like without them， as well as how agencies/governments can control people’s actions。 As more things disappear， people react less to the losses。 Loved the writing style， and this is a profound story that you think about long after you finish reading。 Highly recommended。 5/5 stars。 。。。more

Emily ，

Absolutely phenomenal！ A word of advice when reading this though - this is a book about death and loss， it does not have a feel good justice arc。 Do not go into this book expecting the characters to fight the system。 It is a slow moving and haunting novel that was equal parts shocking， sad， and introspective。 It's a poetic depiction of totalitarianism and simply beautiful。 One of the best books I've read in a while。 Absolutely phenomenal！ A word of advice when reading this though - this is a book about death and loss， it does not have a feel good justice arc。 Do not go into this book expecting the characters to fight the system。 It is a slow moving and haunting novel that was equal parts shocking， sad， and introspective。 It's a poetic depiction of totalitarianism and simply beautiful。 One of the best books I've read in a while。 。。。more

Rachel Penny ，

So I feel like crying now。

Sandra Lindqvist ，

Could not put it down。 It’s beautiful and captivating。 Maybe one of the best books I’ve ever read。

Lisette ，

I really enjoyed the concept。 The story itself did not work as well as I had hoped （for me）。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Memory Police

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Memory Police&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Memory Police&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0