ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - Japan Society Book Club: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

Date
Monday 11 May 2020
Time
7.00pm

Booking Details
Free - Booking essential
Priority for Japan Society members and Book Club regular attendees

Book available from AbeBooks, Book Depository and Amazon
Japanese version available here

Considered a dystopian novel, The Memory Police focuses on an unknown, surreal setting of an unnamed island. With Orwellian themes such as rule by terror and state control, Ogawa depicts the mysterious situation of objects disappearing from the island. As for the Memory Police, most of the citizens live their lives unaware of the disappearances whilst those able to recall live in fear. The story follows a young novelist in her struggle to overcome the state with concepts such as memory and trauma of loss being highlighted by Ogawa.

Read our review here

Yoko Ogawa was born in 1962 in Okayama. Since 1988, Ogawa has published more than twenty works of a combination of both fiction and non-fiction – in the process winning numerous major Japanese awards. Her works typically build up gradually – being particularly successful in her shorter stories. Her works vary widely from taking surreal approaches to grotesque works (both in the humorous and disturbing senses).

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.