MEMORY POLICE,THE(B) Paperback – August 6, 2020

It took me almost 2 years to appreciate the insight and prescience of Ogawa Yoko in this story.My first impression was, 'Oh, another version of 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and etc. in a setting of Anne Frank's Diary'.Then, the extraordinarily coercive measures enforced by a number of governments during the pandemic and the subsequent conflicts on a global scale made this seemingly an out-of-touch dystopian story more imminent one to which I can heartily relate.It is a surprise that young Ogawa created this poignant story almost three decades ago when the western world was immersed in a state of euphoria celebrating an open and free society, audaciously declaring 'the End of History' and before the arrival of such words as algorithm, digital ID, disinformation, and virtual reality to average citizens minds.What would happen to your own existence, if your cognitive world is forcibly infiltrated and manipulated by uncontrollable forces? We are now witnessing the answers unfolding in digital sphere when quite a few dissident voices are being banned/cancelled from the platforms for, among other reasons, challenging official narratives. They simply cease to exist in the matrix. With their archives too being taken down, there remains no trace of the very existence in digital world and thereby in minds of other people as well. What else could be more an appropriate title than 'Memory Police' in this age of online censorship?A touch of forlornness of 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro and helplessness of 'Snow' by Orhan Pamuk. To me, however, this Ogawa's work reflects more philosophical and insightful than those of two Nobel laureates.A monotonous style and slow development of the story may deter non-Japanese readers. I recommend prospective readers to read patiently to the last page.

平易な英訳で大変読みやすい。今の不安定な時代を予見するようなプロットが興味深い

独特なのは、一つひとつ物が消失しそれへの忘却が強制されるという不条理世界をただひたすら甘受し続ける島の人々、それに主人公たちの態度だろう。唯一抗うのは、忘却できない人々をかくまうということのみ。かなりひどい不条理な事態でも抗うことなく受け入れていく美しき精神性を持つ日本人、が寓意的に描かれていると見ていいのかと思う。英文は平易、大学生になって英語の実力を伸ばしたいと思ってる人には、小川洋子作品を英語で読むというのはいいと思う。