THE MEMORY POLICE

Traci Kato-Kiriyama's narration of this Japanese novel is subtle. She successfully keeps the listener in a state of confusion and curiosity in the face of pervasive dread. Ogawa's audiobook unfolds from the point of view of an unnamed woman who notices items in her world going missing, along with people's memories of them and the meanings attached to those memories. The existential implications build as whole concepts disappear, as well. In one affecting scene, the loss of calendars has implications for a birthday party. The "police" of the title enforce the "rules," which are explained as the story progresses, but listeners are left to interpret their true purpose. Appropriately, Kato-Kiriyama's voice doesn't step beyond the boundaries of the nameless narrator, who is experiencing a diminishing world while approaching an ominous ending. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2019]