It's a strong contender to take the award, and might only be challenged for the top prize by fellow nominee, Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa's Death Is Hard Work, a profound road-trip novel about a war-torn Syria. Dealing with topics like government censorship, surveillance and the meaning of existence, The Memory Police still seems relevant almost 25 years after it was first published. There are many reasons to celebrate Ogawa's novel making the list, but perhaps most important is how much its themes resonate today. 'The Memory Police' by Yoko Ogawa has been translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The category for Translated Literature was introduced only last year. The Memory Police is one of five finalists for the Translated Literature category of the National Book Awards, the most coveted U S literary award for the country's authors. But her latest nomination is significant, given that it's for the English version of one of her novels. Ogawa is one of Japan's most prolific writers and the winner of several prestigious literary awards in the country. But it had eluded the English-reading public until this year, when it was translated by Stephen Snyder.
First published in 1994, the hallowed tale about a mysterious island where people, plants and inanimate objects routinely disappear gained cult status in Japan. Nor does her seminal work, The Memory Police.
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