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Jim Fonseca's Reviews > The Memory Police
The Memory Police
by
by
Jim Fonseca's review
bookshelves: dystopian, japanese-authors, science-fiction, totalitarian, memory
Jun 18, 2020
bookshelves: dystopian, japanese-authors, science-fiction, totalitarian, memory
[Edited 1/30/202]
We’re in a small town on a Japanese island. It’s dominated by the brutal “memory police� who make things disappear. Well, they make people make them disappear by declaring that ribbons or emeralds or stamps have to disappear and the citizens reluctantly but dutifully gather and hold bonfires to burn the now-forbidden item of the month.
Some people keep forbidden items and if the MP’s hear of that they will kick your door in and confiscate the items and haul you off who knows where. It’s likely you won’t be heard from again.
And not only do they forbid hoarding of items, they want the memory of those items to be destroyed. Most people forget what ribbon was, or what it was used for, and they forget the smell of now-banned perfume. But some people remember. The MPs want those people. The MPs know who they are and a few good souls try to hide them from the police in basements and in secret rooms at great peril to themselves
Our heroine is a young novelist. Her mother, a sculptor, was a hoarder of banned items. Her mother is no longer with us. The young woman only has two friends: her publisher and an old family friend who ran the ferry boat to the mainland before the ferry was “disappeared.� She doesn’t have the power of memory but she’s hiding someone in her house who does.
Increasingly important things begin to be banned: birds, fruit� and guess what else? It’s a novel about the trauma of loss.
We get to read excerpts from our heroine's latest novel about a woman who permanently loses her voice, so we have a story within a story that’s a metaphor for the ongoing horrors. She develops a love interest in her real life along with the woman in her story, so that helps keep the plot moving along.
A good story, and I think the book has the potential over time to become a classic of dystopian totalitarian literature along with others such as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.
A classic quote used in the book: “Men who start by burning books end up burning other men.�
I recently read and enjoyed another book by this Japanese author (b. 1962): The Housekeeper and the Professor. It too was about memory loss: an elderly professor who could retain recent memory only for an hour and a half.
Top photo on Honshu Island from thetimes.co.uk
Illustration from mexikaresistance.files.wordpress.com
The author from smh.com.au
We’re in a small town on a Japanese island. It’s dominated by the brutal “memory police� who make things disappear. Well, they make people make them disappear by declaring that ribbons or emeralds or stamps have to disappear and the citizens reluctantly but dutifully gather and hold bonfires to burn the now-forbidden item of the month.
Some people keep forbidden items and if the MP’s hear of that they will kick your door in and confiscate the items and haul you off who knows where. It’s likely you won’t be heard from again.
And not only do they forbid hoarding of items, they want the memory of those items to be destroyed. Most people forget what ribbon was, or what it was used for, and they forget the smell of now-banned perfume. But some people remember. The MPs want those people. The MPs know who they are and a few good souls try to hide them from the police in basements and in secret rooms at great peril to themselves
Our heroine is a young novelist. Her mother, a sculptor, was a hoarder of banned items. Her mother is no longer with us. The young woman only has two friends: her publisher and an old family friend who ran the ferry boat to the mainland before the ferry was “disappeared.� She doesn’t have the power of memory but she’s hiding someone in her house who does.
Increasingly important things begin to be banned: birds, fruit� and guess what else? It’s a novel about the trauma of loss.
We get to read excerpts from our heroine's latest novel about a woman who permanently loses her voice, so we have a story within a story that’s a metaphor for the ongoing horrors. She develops a love interest in her real life along with the woman in her story, so that helps keep the plot moving along.
A good story, and I think the book has the potential over time to become a classic of dystopian totalitarian literature along with others such as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.
A classic quote used in the book: “Men who start by burning books end up burning other men.�
I recently read and enjoyed another book by this Japanese author (b. 1962): The Housekeeper and the Professor. It too was about memory loss: an elderly professor who could retain recent memory only for an hour and a half.
Top photo on Honshu Island from thetimes.co.uk
Illustration from mexikaresistance.files.wordpress.com
The author from smh.com.au
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Reading Progress
June 16, 2020
–
Started Reading
June 18, 2020
– Shelved
June 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
dystopian
June 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
japanese-authors
June 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
June 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
totalitarian
June 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
memory
June 18, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-24 of 24 (24 new)
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Fine review, Jim. I've bought this book a few days ago.
Really nice review. I liked the idea of the book, but I thought the writing had nothing special about it and at times paragraphs seemed rather foolish to me. It might have been the translation and not the style itself which I found faulty, but this book failed to impress me.
Glad you liked it. I wish more of her works were translated!
Fascinating premise! Thanks for the great review.
Nocturnalux wrote: "I have this on my shelf and have been looking forward to it for quite a while now. It is interesting that this suppression is being done by MPs. During the War, the Military Police was not just a..."
Nocturnalux, I just used the initials MP as shorthand for Memory Police. You raise an interesting question I had not thought of: is this intended to be past or future? Clearly I thought of Nazis as I read it, although it was clear they were targeting the general population, not specific groups.
Gaurav wrote: "Fine review, Jim. I've bought this book a few days ago."Thanks Gaurav, I hope you like it.
Deea wrote: "Really nice review. I liked the idea of the book, but I thought the writing had nothing special about it and at times paragraphs seemed rather foolish to me. It might have been the translation and ..."Thanks Deea, well I gave it a 4, not a 5 and I agree it was not superb writing but certainly a unique premise and showed a lot of originality.
JimZ wrote: "Glad you liked it. I wish more of her works were translated!"Yes Jim, I imagine all her work will eventually be translated.
Pattie wrote: "Fascinating premise! Thanks for the great review."You're welcome Pattie, yes, a very original premise.
Jim wrote: "Nocturnalux, I just used the initials MP as shorthand for Memory Police. You raise an interesting question I had not thought of: is this intended to be past or future? Clearly I thought of Nazis as I read it, although it was clear they were targeting the general population, not specific groups."Japan had its own Nazis. And sadly, to this day, the country refuses to acknowledge them as such. Or- even worse- Japan occasionally falls into overtly endorsing Nazis...as was the case with an anime (Strike Witches, it is not good), that the State decided was a cultural asset and that featured Rommel as a good guy. That this thing was ever created is already disturbing but that official channel decided to grant it their stamp of approval is just astonishing.
When Japanese fiction projects a dystopia into the future, it is almost impossible not to reflect on the country's very history.
I always knew they were out there. It does sound very futuristic Japan crossed w V for Vendetta and a few more classic works. Well done. Love your write up. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shaina wrote: "I always knew they were out there. It does sound very futuristic Japan crossed w V for Vendetta and a few more classic works. Well done. Love your write up. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"Thanks Shaina, I'm glad you liked the review
Nocturnalux wrote: "Jim wrote: "Nocturnalux, I just used the initials MP as shorthand for Memory Police. You raise an interesting question I had not thought of: is this intended to be past or future? Clearly I thought..."Yes, Japanese behavior in occupied countries was like that of the Nazis - Manchuria for example
Jim wrote: "Yes, Japanese behavior in occupied countries was like that of the Nazis - Manchuria for example."Not just in occupied countries either. Not surprisingly, the Japanese Gestapo did a great job of weeding out virtually all internal dissent.
People were 'disappeared' in mainland Japan all the time.
In some cases, all it'd take for you to be 'disappeared', during the war, would be to not have a big enough Imperial flag hanging from your house (or even that it was not hanging correctly!).
Censorship was strict and anyone who refused to abide by it was either already dead and gone or gone into hiding (in plain sight as there was not much a chance of actually getting away) by keeping diaries and the like (as in, written records that were for private use). And it might not even matter because just like their German counterparts, the Japanese Gestapo raided people's houses and searched them thoroughly if they saw fit.
The most immediate and obvious target were of course the communists. There were actually quite a few of these before they were locked away and systematically eliminated- all this in Japan proper.
Nocturnalux wrote: "Jim wrote: "Yes, Japanese behavior in occupied countries was like that of the Nazis - Manchuria for example."Not just in occupied countries either. Not surprisingly, the Japanese Gestapo did a gr..."
Wow I did not know any of that about suppression of internal dissent
I've read a few of Ogawa's works before I tackled this one. It's the most fantastical of the bunch, veering off into SF territory of the sort by Bradbury as you mention. Great review!
Dan wrote: "I've read a few of Ogawa's works before I tackled this one. It's the most fantastical of the bunch, veering off into SF territory of the sort by Bradbury as you mention. Great review!"
Thanks Dan. Yes, as much science fiction as it is futuristic dystopia. Still a good story.
This was a book I didn't make much of while reading it, but parts of it have persisted in my subconscious and float up from time to time. I think the paranoia of forgetting something so completely you cannot even miss or remember it is what's stayed with me. Agree this has all the makings of a future classic. Lovely review as always, Jim :)
Scarlet wrote: "This was a book I didn't make much of while reading it, but parts of it have persisted in my subconscious and float up from time to time. I think the paranoia of forgetting something so completely ..."Thanks Scarlet, you're right that it stays with you. I recall it very well despite having read it a couple of years ago
one of my recent favorites :)
Maryam wrote: "one of my recent favorites :)"I'm glad you liked it Maryam
I enjoyed the book, and your review, but I assumed the line about book-burning was a quote from somewhere else. Thanks for clarifying that it's Ogawa's own.
Is it really the Memory Police or State that "make them forget"? It's what I thought at the beginning of the novel, however even animals seem to be subject to it, so people who forget "naturally" aren't just people who have internalized the regime (as I thought at one point too) even the dog seems to loose the ability to use what is lost, and nobody is making him... I think it is a novel about loss, and grief and rememberance. The setting is confusing because loosing stuff is confusing, the book doesn't explain because life doesn't explain. I liked it, but I also struggled through it (which isn't a bad thing), mainly because as a westerner living in 2025 I am used to a certain pace, worldbuilding and explanations when I read a book, so it was a refreshing paradigm change.
It is interesting that this suppression is being done by MPs. During the War, the Military Police was not just a force of sheer brutality abroad, it also systematically persecuted intellectuals all across Japan.
I recently read a sample of wartime diaries kept by Japanese during and about the War and plenty of them recorded their fear that the MP would find the diaries. One wrote in French, in the hopes that even if found it would be deemed irrelevant by the MPs (who would probably be somewhat hard pressed to find anyone to translate the content as it was).
I wonder if this book is as much about projecting a dark future as it is reflecting a very dark past.