An unnamed woman lives on an island that's losing objects, one at a time.
As the story opens many things - like ribbons, stamps, gems, hats, bells, perfume, candies, and boats - have disappeared. Once an item is gone, the islanders lose all knowledge of it, and no longer recognize it or know its purpose.
Exceptions to residents with mass amnesia are a small number of citizens who can remember everything. One of these 'rememberers' was the woman's mother. When the woman was young, her mother would tell her, "Long ago, before you were born, there were many more things here. That's just the way it is on this island. Things go on disappearing. The island will soon be nothing but absences and holes, and when it's completely hollowed out, we'll all disappear without a trace."
The mother would then allow her daughter to take out a 'vanished' item hidden in a cabinet, and would tell her all about it.
People with intact memories are persona non grata on this island, like Jews in Nazi Germany. Once the 'rememberers' are identified, they're taken away by the Memory Police, and then disappear or turn up dead. Some of these unfortunate folks try to hide, but the Memory Police search for them relentlessly - and cart them off when they're found.
This happened to the woman's mother. Fifteen years ago the mother was told to report to the Memory Police for an interview. Her body was returned a few days later, with a story about a heart attack. The woman's father then passed away also, and she was left all alone except for an elderly family friend called 'the old man.'
As it happens, the woman is an author, and the narrative is interspersed with chapters from her novel. The woman's book is about a girl who's lost her voice, and can only communicate with her boyfriend via typewriter. The woman's manuscript is being carefully vetted by her editor, a man called R.
The woman realizes that R can remember things that have vanished, and she fears for his life. Thus the woman gets 'the old man' to help her fix up a secret room in her house. Reached by a trapdoor from the second floor, the little chamber is kitted out with a bed, a desk, a chair, some shelves, a toilet, a ventilation system, and a string phone made with funnels.
R moves into the room, leaving his pregnant wife behind.
Things on the island continue to disappear, one by one, and the citizens robotically cooperate by burning their corresponding possessions. So when books vanish, the residents burn their literature.
Before long the region is almost bare - with very little food and constantly falling snow.
When photographs vanish - and the woman feels compelled to get rid of her pictures - R implores her, "You don't have to burn your photographs. Important things remain important things. Their essence doesn't change. If you keep them, they're bound to bring you something in return. I don't want to see any more of your memories lost."
The woman responds, "No. Nothing comes back now when I see a photograph They're nothing more than pieces of paper."
In fact most of the island residents are really not bothered by the disappearances. They're not frightened and they don't miss the things that are gone.
As the situation on the island worsens, the situation for the mute girl in the woman's book worsens as well.
The tale is almost relentlessly downbeat, though the girl, the old man, and R try to stay cheerful, and even have a tiny birthday party.
For me the authoritarian regime that governs this island is very puzzling. I understand the rationale for fascist leaders in the REAL WORLD - like Hitler and Mussolini - whose aim is to control the population, expand their territory, and increases their influence.
Mussolini (left) and Hitler
The government on the island, however, seems bent on destroying the whole shebang, which seems like a self-defeating goal. But maybe that's the point.....no one actually cares.
The author may not have had this in mind. but the book's theme makes me think of human despoliation of the Earth, global warming, and the extinctions that result. Like the novel's islanders, a segment of the world's population seems indifferent....or even happy to enable the changes for their own advantage and profit. 🥺
The book, originally written in Japanese, has a quieter vibe than dystopian novels by western authors, and is more mysterious. The novel is well worth reading if you're in the mood for something different.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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