The Memory Police [June 1, 2024]

[Yanique, Thread Master]

This is a Buddy Read for The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa starting on June 1, 2024.


Happy Reading!

[Nirkatze]

Thank you!

[Monika]

Added to my list for next year :)

[Nirkatze]

I'm looking forward to it!

[Felina]

This sounds very interesting. I’m in!

[Tonari no Emily]

Am intrigued!

[Nirkatze]

Currently on sale on Audible & Chirp for one more day through Sunday 8/27!

[Dominique]

L'm in.

[Johanna]

Had missed this earlier. I think I have to join too

[Felina]

I’m looking forward to this. It’s been on the list for so long and it’s finally here.

[Felina]

29% - it’s kinda of boring. Interesting concept but two dimensional characters.

[Felina]

I just finished. It does get much more engaging by the end. I used to love dystopian novels but now they make me sad. We’re living though some pretty dystopian stuff. It’s depressing to see that we don’t learn from history. Now I’m all melancholy. Probably should read a Stephanie Plum now.

[Saar The Book owl]

Oh, I didn't know it would give such a negative/melancholic vibe? I'm going to start this evening.

[Felina]

Well, it’s dystopian and even the best ones are sad in their own way.

[Silvana]

I wanted to join but have so much on my plate this month ;((

[Tonari no Emily]

Started! In Chapter 6 Interesting world so far... It does make me want to know more, but I'm agreeing with Felina about the two dimensional characters... (view spoiler)[ I wonder if those puzzle-like figurines Innui left for the MC will be relevant (hide spoiler)]

[Johanna]

Chapter 6
(view spoiler)[I love dystopian stories, they are somehow so intriguing, strange and sick at the same time. And this world sounds horrid: you can loose everything. One day something has just lost. And how there are some people who still can remember and police is after them. I am curious to know how many can remember and why they loose memories. (hide spoiler)]

[Johanna]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Started! In Chapter 6 Interesting world so far... It does make me want to know more, but I'm agreeing with Felina about the two dimensional characters... [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I am pretty sure that those figurines are going to be relevant! (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

I cracked open my Japanese copy a month ago and haven't been back to it yet... I seem to have a mental block on actually working through this. Will probably swap to audio and forgive myself for not practicing...

[Johanna]

Chapter 11
(view spoiler)[I am a bit worried for this older man. He helps but how this all is going to end 😬 They have pretty dangerous situation going on (hide spoiler)]

[Johanna]

Finished
(view spoiler)[This was a bit too strange for my liking. This was confusing, to be honest I didn't understand how things worked and what was happening. Why they lost those things? Who decided what they were going to loose next? I hate books that doesn't give enough information. Yeah I can use my own imagination and think what this was all about, but then I could write a story myself. I liked the older man but romance was a bit off, they just were suddenly kissing and there hadn't been any signs beforehand about their feelings. It was also a bit unclear how old the main character was and that was a bit confusing first. (hide spoiler)]

[Johanna]

Felina wrote: "I just finished. It does get much more engaging by the end. I used to love dystopian novels but now they make me sad. We’re living though some pretty dystopian stuff. It’s depressing to see that we..."

I also started to feel a bit depressed 😑

[Felina]

Come read Orphan X with us. That will cheer you up!

[Johanna]

Felina wrote: "Come read Orphan X with us. That will cheer you up!"

You're so sweet 🫂 I love that I was invited but I read it already 😔 Or did you mean the second book 🤔😎 If you meant the first one you have to keep updating so I'll get to laugh 😀

[Felina]

If you’ve read the first, come for the second.

[Johanna]

Oh yes, I have to do that 🥰 I think no one has started it yet 🤔

[Nirkatze]

It's only a few days away. I'm sure if you start, the tide will follow.

[Tonari no Emily]

Woof, through chapter 15... I'm not super intrigued by the story, but I do hope it ends at least a little satisfactorily.. But I was surprised when the (view spoiler)[ story our MC was writing took a turn for the horror! Those parts I was skimming through, but dang that got interesting fast! lol (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Wow, that was depressing...

[Johanna]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Woof, through chapter 15... I'm not super intrigued by the story, but I do hope it ends at least a little satisfactorily.. But I was surprised when the [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yeah it wasn't that bad! Even though I usually hate stories inside the stories. I always wonder what it adds to the book (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Johanna wrote: "Tonari no Emily wrote: "Woof, through chapter 15... I'm not super intrigued by the story, but I do hope it ends at least a little satisfactorily.. But I was surprised when the [spoilers removed]"

..."
I do like how the (view spoiler)[ the inside story paralleled the main story though..
But the ending of the book just felt so abrupt! (hide spoiler)]

[Johanna]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Tonari no Emily wrote: "Woof, through chapter 15... I'm not super intrigued by the story, but I do hope it ends at least a little satisfactorily.. But I was surprised when the [spoi..."

(view spoiler)[Well in those both stories MC lost something. But what about how another MC lost her voice first and in the another story that was the last one left. What do you think about that? I read somewhere how this would be a book about memory diseases. That would at least explane why it was never told who was behind everything and where this was aiming. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Finished this a few days ago and then had a local book club talk about it. I agree with y'all--at first, it was hard to put a finger on what was going on... the story didn't seem to have a point... it took me about 2/3rds of the way through to determine it wasn't a plot book, but an idea book--that we weren't going to get a satisfying "solves everything" ending...

One of the folks in the Book Club mentioned that she'd read an article where Ogawa-sensei talked about her inspirations, and one of them was the Diary of Anne Frank--which I was thinking about while reading, honestly, with (view spoiler)[how R was trapped in that room all day... I'd decided the book was about the dangers of people just accept horrible things without fighting back--like losing the memories, or the Memory Police, or being a prisoner, or living under a totalitarian regime... While characters might question, or try little bits of resistance, they still stand by while their neighbors--children!--are dragged away by the Memory Police and do nothing. The typewriter girl just sat in that clocktower room and did nothing when given a way to escape. There was no talk AT ALL about trying to figure out what was up with the missing memories--or trying to use the people who retained their memories to try and reverse the process or figure out why it was happening. There was an overall lack of curiosity in all of the characters that was down-right disturbing.

One of my book clubbers brought up the analogue of the lobster in the pot of hot water, slowly being boiled to death, but not trying to escape because the temperature was being turned up by degrees. Seems spot on. (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

I've tried to continue, but today, after chapter 12, this was the first Japanese book I didn't finish.
It's not the book, it's me. It was an interesting concept, but I think to difficult to follow while reading other books in between.
Also the story that the main character was writing, caused confusion. Maybe if it was written in cursive or something that you can notice as a reader that marks something different in the book, the confusion would be less.
I'll give the book another try, though.

[Silvana]

I think it's fine, and you could come back to the book anytime you want or feel like it.

I have this book for a long time and was excited to do a BR but I did not have the time back in June. I might try in a few weeks and post thoughts here.