The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa: Why is this book universally loved?

I can't for the life of me understand the wide acclaim for this book. It was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2020. I've seen it described as "a masterpiece" and "a masterclass in dystopian literature." How are its many issues overlooked?

Issue 1: bad writing.
The writing gave me the impression of someone writing their first story. It's simplistic, and not in an artistic way. It's void of subtlety or tension. It takes "show don't tell" too far in the other direction. It over-explains, it repeats time-worn metaphors, and it's filled with clichés – one chapter literally ends with a knock on the door, and the proceeding chapter follows that up with the protagonist whispering "The Memory Police" (gasp) as if that wasn't clear.

Issue 2: bad story.
It's a great idea: an authoritarian police force is removing items seemingly at random from an island society. But what most dystopian novels have that this one lacks is a clear purpose. How did society come to be this way? What was the intention? How is the regime being maintained? The Memory Police leaves all of these questions unanswered. Perhaps this book wasn't looking to be a societal critique. Fine, but if that's the case then we shouldn't liken it to 1984 (I'm looking at you, Time Magazine). 

I enjoy a good plot-light novel (keyword: good). My issue was not the lack of plot but the lack of direction. There was no satisfying resolution, no suggestion of what's to come or, more importantly, why. Just a continuation of what has been occuring throughout the novel with no resisting force, no opposing dynamic, no anything. And it throws in an unnecessary, heavily contrived romance.

Issue 3: inconsistencies.
I'm bewildered as to how this novel presumably made it through multiple rounds of editing.There are writing inconsistencies, eg referring to a character as "the hatmaker" and "the ex-hatmaker" interchangeably; haphazardly switching between "disappeared" and "been disappeared" to describe the island's occurrences. Then there are plot inconsistencies: fruits disappear but the narrator continues to reference apples. Some items disappear out of thin air like magic, while others require the members of society to gather them up – I love magical realism, but not when it is applied opportunely to fill plot holes.

All in all, I'm perplexed by the praise this book received. Would love to hear why you did or didn't enjoy this.