The ending is sooo weird. But I like the setting overall:rather things disappearing ,it is islanders’ heart hardening, degrading ,breaking down,being unable to understand the meaning of things and finally the purpose of existence. I also like the sense of mystery created by Ogawa by leaving out the names of the narrator and the old men and the truth behind the memory police institution. The book is really in japanese style: the vanishing of the object is like an exageration or amplification of the old japanese philosophy of monoaware.