The narrative parallels how real life operates under an oppressive regime - it’s not realistic to expect everyone to transform themselves into Katniss Everdeen. The oppressive status quo is often questioned, characters commit subtle acts of rebellion and the truants celebrate key milestones. Under this regime, they’re forcefully silenced and presumably killed.Īccording to her interview with the New York Times, Ogawa had not “intended to write a political allegory.” But this is where the success of the book lies: in its ability to comment on the enduring human spirit in the face of police brutality. People are often interrogated and taken into police custody without reasoning. So they force it to disappear with their own hands.” From their point of view, anything that fails to vanish when they say it should is inconceivable. This concept is best illustrated by the line: “The island is run by men who are determined to see things disappear. The totalitarian government ensures that these relics stay forgotten, forcing the remnants of the bygone objects to be burned and destroyed.

Once these objects vanish, most citizens lose their memories surrounding the item. Things unexpectedly disappear in ther town: perfume, bells, emeralds, ribbons, stamps and birds. In Ogawa’s 1994 novel, the characters live on an island, governed by an authoritarian police state. The story eloquently captures the reality of moving forward, continuing forward, which isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. “The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa takes this thread and spins it into a poignant novel about memory.

Incapable of grasping every single detail. Where did I leave my keys? Did I tell my mom about this already? Most of our brains are Mandile Mpofu | Graphic Artist Forgetting, to some extent, is part of human nature.

Yoko ogawa the memory police