Japanese Literature discussion

For December, we'll be reading a second, very different novel by Yoko Ogawa— The Memory Police , translated by Stephen Snyder.

If you didn’t enjoy Mina’s Matchbox, rest assured that Yoko Ogawa is a diverse author, and this title is very different. It’s nothing like Mina or The Housekeeper and the Professor or Hotel Iris... or anything else by Ogawa available in English. She published The Memory Police in 1994. (The Japanese title—密やかな結晶 or Hisoyaka na Kesshō—means something more like “Secret Crystallization” or “Quiet Crystallization.) The novel wasn’t published in English until 2019. Stephen Snyder’s English translation was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature as well as the 2020 International Booker Prize and the 2020 World Fantasy Award.

On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.

There are a lot of different ways to read this one. Some people read it as a straight-forward post-apocalyptic novel. (If you want to learn more about Japanese apocalyptic literature, Read Japanese Literature has a three-part series on the subject: tinyurl.com/RJLep33.) Others read it as an allegory about memory loss or even Alzheimer's disease. Still others see a commentary about Japanese "war memory" and WWII. I look forward to hearing what you make of it!

*If you have other resources about Ogawa or The Memory Police, please share them in this thread!

This link to the Booker prize library is quite a good resource with videos and interview on the book: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke...

The Japan Federation of New York chapter had an interview and discussion with Yoko Ogawa and the English language translator, Stephen Snyder. You can access it here:

https://ny.jpf.go.jp/event/jfny-liter...

I will be also reading along in December. It is one of the few Ogawa works, in English translation, that I haven’t read. I was holding out in case that we would have another group read on the novel. I am very much looking forward to this group read.

I’ve just started it now- already intriguing so thank you for the suggestion. More from me later.

I have both the printed book and the audiobook. I am really looking forward to this group read.

Looking forward to this too

Great book! Without spoiling, I Just wish it was longer and went more in-depth on some of the topics/challenges faced by our protagonist.

I agree that it is a great book, but I am not sure I would have "survived" it if it was longer.... it was really hard on me.

GONZA wrote: "I agree that it is a great book, but I am not sure I would have "survived" it if it was longer.... it was really hard on me."

I worked slowly through it. I paused periodically because of reflection on close family passed with Alzheimers. It is, however, a very good novel. Like Gonza, I was glad it was not longer.

Halfway through…a good a dystopian novel as any. appreciating the snowy setting this time of year 🤍🍵🤍

I have completed the audiobook of The Memory Police slowly, a few chapters at a time. I am again impressed at Ogawa’s works.

I would be glad to discuss elements of the book, themes or reflections.
Please use spoiler tags if there is anything that might spoil the story for those that haven't finished it. here are instructions: https://help.goodreads.com/s/global-s...
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Jack wrote: "I have completed the audiobook of The Memory Police slowly, a few chapters at a time. I am again impressed at Ogawa’s works.

I would be glad to discuss elements of the book, themes..."

It's generally the group policy that we avoid spoilers until the 15th without spoiler tags. You can use them as a courtesy after that, but you aren't obliged. (This is a compromise position because spoiler tags don't work right on the mobile app—y'all should let us know if that changes.)

I will repost after the 15th. This was a sample anyway and, i expect, had no reveals.
Thanks for setting me straight.

I just finished this myself. I'm not drawn to dystopians (too bleak), but I found this one compelling and enjoyed it. I want to go back & read the interview Jack posted earlier, but look forward to hearing others' thoughts as they finish.

Here are some possible themes in The Memory Police for possible discussion:

Authoritarianism and the The Surveillance State
Fate vs. Free Will
Memory and The Loss of Connection
Loss, Isolation, and Self-Identity
Defiance through Storytelling

do you have others?
For example, what is the meaning in the original title, “Secret Crystallization” or “Quiet Crystallization"?
or
What was the influences on the author that might have seeded this story?

If you have completed The Memory Police you might like reading the discussions from the previous group read at:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Also, the original title is more likely translated to “Secret Crystallization” or “Quiet Crystallization".
The French translation is entitled Cristallisation secrète, tr by Rose-Marie Makino more closely follows the original name. I believe that Agnetta, a long term member of the forum, previously read the French translation.

The English translation title was a publisher decision supported by the translator likely also reflecting more current political/social trends. Although I felt that this was a canny marketing decision, it moved the focus to Authoritarianism and Enforcement from, probably, an author’s theme about the collective passive support of the memory editing process. The Antonym Magazine describes the focus relating to the original title as such, “Rather than situating the Memory Police as the true antagonist in the story, the novel instead points to the power of invisible historical processes and how human beings participate in historical revisionism.” (1)

In an interview (2), Stephen Snyder Was asked and responded:

“The original Japanese title of the novel is 密やかな結晶 (Hisoyaka na Kesshō), which can be roughly translated as secret or quiet crystallisation, a translation we see reflected in the French title of the novel. Some have said the English title creates expectations of a political novel when its true meaning is more subtle. How did you (and the publishing team behind the novel) arrive at the title The Memory Police, and why was there a decision to focus on the antagonists rather than the psychological process at the heart of the novel?”

“One of the very few adjustments I made in the translation is the one reflected in the title. The original text refers repeatedly to ‘secret police’ whose job it is to do ‘memory hunting’. For convenience and speed, I collapsed the two ideas, coining the term ‘Memory Police’. It was an editorial decision to use this term as the title, but one I support. I understand the change in emphasis, but I don’t believe the title masks the thematic content or creates expectations that aren’t borne out in the text. As we know, titles appear, context-free, before a reader encounters what lies between the covers, and their purpose (like the wonderful cover art for The Memory Police) is, in part, to bring readers to the experience of the work. In that sense, I think it’s clear that the new title was successful, in that it afforded a large number of readers that opportunity. Yoko Ogawa was consulted on the title change, of course, and approved of it.“

(1) https://www.theantonymmag.com/review-...
(2) The full interview is here: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke...

I didn't realize the translator came up with the new title. It seemed fitting to the piece to me, as if it naturally had two titles.

"The Quiet Crystalization" seems to refer to a 'hardening' of reality, gradually losing its freedom as parts of it cease to move. "The Memory Police" are a poorly understood reaction to TQC, in that for their own unexplained reasons, they prohibit people from referring to those freedoms that have already been lost.

The title of the Swedish translation is The Island of Lost Memories, which is also far too literal but has probably attracted more readers than the original title would have.

A lot of people read Ogawa’s novel as a metaphor (or reductio ad absurdum? reflection?) about the way Japan as a country remembers (or doesn’t) its actions during WWII. If that’s what Ogawa intended—or a reading she wanted readers to access—the English-language title sort of detracts from that possibility. It diverts attention from any kind of collective responsibility.

Then again, I’m not completely convinced by that reading. It does seem a little more plausible when we recall that the Japanese was published in 1994. (FWIW, at the time, Kenzaburo Oe was *the guy* in literary fiction and very concerned that modern Japanese literature was losing its way specifically because younger writers weren’t dealing with Japan’s war legacy anymore.)

might get a little tangential here but after finding out the original name the saturnine petrification theme ended up blanketing but supporting the authoritative for me( the constant referral to “the old man” as Saturnus is generally depicted as bent old man ). Led me to think a bit about the acoustic dampening effect snow has on sound waves
And also more poetically the crystallization of the creative(water) and the vane attempt to solidify and govern the fluid nature of an ever changing reality

I think the Memory Police, maybe aka the kempeitai, in the book are not the main focus, despite the English title. The story leaves many open questions about them. What was their origin? For example were they an opportunist group that defacto took control by becoming the enforcers of the disappearances? How could they continue functioning normally after body parts were disappeared? Are they, themselves, an organization of some of those that remember?
Thoughts?

I personally find the variations in the translation of the title fascinating. The way they change it to appeal to the readers in different countries/cultures. I think the English one is more political because Anglo-Saxon cultures are more openly political. The Polish title (I’m personally listening to the Polish translation of the novel) is “Podziemie pamięci” which can be roughly translated to “the Underground of Memory” or “Memory Underground”, which, im not sure if it’s on purpose or not, brings out the connotation of underground state and quiet (and not so quiet) rebellion, which are ingrained in Polish history. This can appeal to both, younger and older readers, that might not be into Japanese literature to begin with but might resonate with the history.

Japanese title is elusive, in a way, with many interpretations, meanings depending on your personal perspective. But then, Japanese language is never straightforward.

Podziemie pamięci by Yōko Ogawa, Polish tr by Anna Karpiuk. (Thank you Kamila)

and

De förlorade minnenas ö by Yōko Ogawa, Swedish tr by Vibeke Emond. (Thank you Elena)

Fate vs Free Will. A starting point for discussion.
The vast majority of island inhabitants fall under the “it is fate and nothing we can do about it”, and are passively accepting their situation. A few have have flashing of free will and, though accepting “fate”, try to push back for the sake of another.

(Please take the below as my opinion…)
There was (free will) Japanese resistance, by a small minority, to the militarism that crescendoed in WWII, with all the abuses and horrors. However, the majority took it as fate or, perhaps, destiny.

I think of a few books that express this resistance and bear witness:
A Diary of Darkness: The Wartime Diary of Kiyosawa Kiyoshi eng trs by Kamiyama Tamie.
The New Sun by Taro Yashima.

Is the evil here the societal acceptance of the disappearing?

I think about the neighbors of the narrator who protected the young boy.

“Let children enjoy living on this earth, let children be strong enough not to be beaten or twisted by evil on this earth.”

― Taro Yashima

I mused on R as The Omega Man and re-memory as the serum in an imagined future beyond the story in the novel.

And
Was R and the narrator an incarnation of Anne Frank where the narrator’s novels and R were the story that survived her. :(

I feel like the people that succumbed to the fate of memory loss were the ordinary people - the ones that don’t question or only question on the surface but never do anything about it and do as they are supposed to (like the main character). It’s those people that go with the mass and in the worse case impose the ideas that they hold on others (memory police) or tell on others that don’t agree with the status quo.
And there we have the ones that remember, because they don’t want to forget - those that chose their own free will, those, that even if they appear to be the part of the crowd, won’t truly follow it. But then even when that try to hide, at some point their worldview is so different that they can’t.

If I were to make a war comparison the ones that forget are the ones that keep silent and do nothing when atrocities happen. It’s not that they particularly are for what’s happening but they don’t want to be involved, they just want to live in their own bubble. Then we have those that make the atrocities happen or enable them - the memory police, spies. And then we have those that don’t agree with what’s happening - the ones that keep their memory intact, like R. And even if they keep silent and hide, they can’t stop trying to make others remember. Until the end R was trying to help the main character.

Thank you for suggesting this book for the December discussion. I listened to the audio version and found the narrator a bit irritating ( rather high pitched, childish voice) However I could overlook that eventually and was really drawn into the book. Firstly I felt the main characters were well described and the story line(s) led me along with interest. Of course the main threads and the book’s appeal is to try and understand the rather sad, bleak analogies and the meaning of loss of freedom and memory of both the unimportant and the very important things in life. In some ways I saw this a reflection of ageing and loss. Often friends and neighbours will help but society can often be hostile to those losing ability and memory. In the end I suppose we all drift away so that works too.
I loved the character of the old man- to me signifying our past world and culture. The editor living in the hidden space was annoying to me. He left his family, lived on kindness but contributed little ( apart from his memory which didn’t really help). Anyway the book is haunting and the inner story about the typist was also strange but haunting. Many questions remain unanswered !!

The Japan Society of Boston had a stimulating 2 hour virtual discussion of The Memory Police yesterday. A member of our forum is the host of the JSB book group and has been guiding the group’s discussions for several years.

As a reminder, there are many virtual, in-person, and hybrid J-lit book clubs around the world. They are a great way to engage in detailed discussions on the j-lit books that intrigue us.

I just joined this group and am very happy to have found it, as Japanese literature and culture have become increasingly important for me. Anyhow, a short (delayed, I guess) comment: The Memory Police is one of my favorite novels, Japanese and in general.

At first I couldn't quite tell why, but on second read I realized it has something to do partly with the way the story flows and partly with the underlying energy/experience/presence of love, in its different expressions. There is a sense of almost impossible hope, in spite of everything. Much needed these days...