Number 13- the Memory Police- Yoko Ogawa

This was last months' choice for a book group read.  I'd never heard of it before despite it being the sort of thing that I seek out.  One of the very good reasons for being in a book group.

This is one of the more original ideas for a dystopian societies that I know of.  In this world, things are forgotten by decree.  Roses, birds, hats, ribbons, basically objects at random, one morning, you wake up and they mean nothing.  Any that you own are taken out and destroyed.  The memory police will visit to deal with those who remember.

I remember reading a quote from Ray Bradbury where he said that in his books rocket ships go to the stars. that's what they do.  You don't need to know how they work, just that they do. What fuels them is not relevant. 

That frame of mind is essential for this book.  The mechanics of the situation are unexplainable, especially from a POV of one of those who does forget. This is a book where you just need to go along with it.

Our narrator is a novelist. When she realises her editor is one who can remember, she decides to protect him from the Memory Police who are on a hunt. For the rest of the book their relationship forms the emotional heart of the story whilst more and more items are forgotten.

This is beautifully translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The storyline is intriguing, sad and genuinely emotional.  This is an excellent book on most metrics.

However, the internal logic is inconsistent. As much as I wanted to just go with the flow, if all birds are forgotten, why are they always eating chicken? Is that not a bird? if all fruit has been forgotten and destroyed, tomatoes would no longer be on the menu (they eat tomatoes on a regular basis along with the chickens) and she would not mourn the loss of strawberries to make a cake several months later. these are minor points but enough to pull me out of the story. 

I can't bring myself to add this to my own personal pantheon of dystopian greats on that basis. If you're going for such a high fantasy base for your concept, it needs to keep its internal logic intact. 

It really is a good book, it's beautiful and well worth the read.  I just wish the copy editor had ironed out the flaws.