The Memory Police

by Yōko Ogawa

“They may be nothing more than scraps of paper, but they capture something profound. Light and wind and air, the tenderness or joy of the photographer, the bashfulness or pleasure of the subject. You have to guard these things forever in your heart. That’s why photographs are taken in the first place.”

“I remember hearing a saying long ago: ‘Men who start by burning books end by burning other men,’ ” I said.