tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post8419451757937385017..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Yoko Ogawa's The Memory Police - “And what will happen if words disappear?”Amateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-68033440130128554002020-03-16T21:52:38.630-05:002020-03-16T21:52:38.630-05:00I thought about using the Abish novel as my refere...I thought about using the Abish novel as my reference rather than Oulipo. <i>Alphabetical Africa</i> is an ideal example of the conceptual novel. You do not even really have to read it to see what is going on. Just leafing through it is enough.<br /><br />And it does have that eerie effect of making the first letters of each word not necessarily meaningful but at least intensely visible. It's weird.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-71126402139651324212020-03-16T20:40:28.439-05:002020-03-16T20:40:28.439-05:00Reminds me a wee bit of Alphabetical Africa--const...Reminds me a wee bit of Alphabetical Africa--constraint after constraint and then a free passage of word use for some reason and then back to constraint. And afterward, readers arguing whether various deviating words were errors or were used for some hidden purpose and occult significance.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-28451758089872703302020-03-05T21:10:02.980-06:002020-03-05T21:10:02.980-06:00This novel is like the opposite of the missing &qu...This novel is like the opposite of the missing "e." "Look, there's a stapler!" The stapler somehow becomes almost exciting. The word "stapler," I mean. An actual stapler would not be exciting.<br /><br />I am all for writing things down.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-84539337318577073152020-03-05T17:07:26.646-06:002020-03-05T17:07:26.646-06:00I was also expecting the novel to turn into what o...I was also expecting the novel to turn into what obooki describes, like one of those French books without the letter "e" or whatever.<br /><br />Writing things down to remember them was a significant development in human history! scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-90761459864698061812020-03-05T09:53:16.843-06:002020-03-05T09:53:16.843-06:00At one point I thought the novel you imagine was w...At one point I thought the novel you imagine was where Ogawa was going, but no. The final excerpt of the novel contains even more "disappeared" words.<br /><br />A cynic might say the message of the novel was that we sometimes remember things by writing them down.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-62874829090781114442020-03-05T06:54:34.402-06:002020-03-05T06:54:34.402-06:00If the objects disappear first, and then the words...If the objects disappear first, and then the words, that is fair enough - though we'd still probably remember them. After all, objects do disappear and we have many words for things that never existed.<br /><br />A good conceit would be that the novelist themself became restricted to a smaller and smaller set of words as the novel progressed, so that it became harder and harder to describe things.obookihttps://obooki.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-90655159943648297992020-03-04T19:22:01.955-06:002020-03-04T19:22:01.955-06:00I have not quite got Makioka in my mitts, but I am...I have not quite got <i>Makioka</i> in my mitts, but I am hopeful.<br /><br />The prizes do not have much attraction for me. But I do at least try to see what is out there. The prizes help with that.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3738393528629857082020-03-04T17:18:23.966-06:002020-03-04T17:18:23.966-06:00By the way, I enjoyed The Makioka Sisters so very ...By the way, I enjoyed The Makioka Sisters so very much. Even though the read-along is held throughout March, I have scheduled my posts and completed the book (I must persevere, or I lose context) so that I can concentrate on the Booker International Prize. Much as I loathe making my reading joy into a job, I feel compelled to read as many as I can from the long list before the short list is announced. So, now we will need to discuss Tyll, too! (When it arrives from across the sea.)Bellezza https://www.blogger.com/profile/18073864187188953633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-24169391708279966022020-03-04T17:05:47.537-06:002020-03-04T17:05:47.537-06:00Good, please return upon completion. Or I will fin...Good, please return upon completion. Or I will find you at your place. Maybe someone will solve the puzzle. If there is a puzzle.<br /><br />With <i>Tyll</i>, I have now read two Booker books, which is two more than usual for me.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-47431171152948265652020-03-04T16:11:24.688-06:002020-03-04T16:11:24.688-06:00I am also going to read this soon for JLC13 (once ...I am also going to read this soon for JLC13 (once the book gets in from the library). I like a fair amount of absurdity in fiction, but your review points out some elements that will likely frustrate me. Thanks for sharing (and preparing us)!Marian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14115916138435761469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-10290957197444447082020-03-04T15:53:36.825-06:002020-03-04T15:53:36.825-06:00This is next up for me, right after I finish my cu...This is next up for me, right after I finish my current read: The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Sookoofeh Azar which is...breathtaking. I am reading The Memory Police for the JLC13, for the Booker International Prize (on which it represents the only work in Japanese) and because I have loved Ogawa's work. Only, not Revenge. I will be interested to talk further with you when I am more well versed with the book. But, I am always interested to talk with you anyway.Bellezza https://www.blogger.com/profile/18073864187188953633noreply@blogger.com