Book Review: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

The Memory Police
by Yoko Ogawa

This dystopian book uses magical realism to turn metaphorical examples into actual physical changes the characters must endure. The Memory Police periodically announce something that is to disappear and be forgotten: birds, flowers, photographs, ribbons, stamps, green beans, etc. After an item has been “disappeared” the general population immediately forgets about its use and its characteristics. The few people who are able to remember things are considered dangerous, forced into hiding before the Memory Police can capture and murder them. The disappearance of things and people then losing awareness about what they were forgetting was a powerful symbol of how we need to stay aware of things happening in our world that need to be addressed, rather than passively accepting injustices and dangerous changes.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, or The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.]

[ publisher’s official The Memory Police web page ] | [ Wikipedia page for Yoko Ogawa ]

Recommended by Jodi R.
Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

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