Kept waiting for the central allegory to explain itself: things disappear on an island, then the memories of them, all enforced by the titular authority. Felt similar to Miéville’s “The City and The City” but fuzzier. There’s no logic to what disappears—birds, stamps, green beans, roses—and people give them up with no resistance. Seeing how the banning of books and critical race theory played out, I think I get it now.