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The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa


 
Title: The Housekeeper and the Professor
Author: Yoko Ogawa
Genre: Fiction/Japanese Literature
Pages: 180
Rating: 9/10


This short novel (180 pages) is the story of a Housekeeper who goes to work for someone she calls the Professor who is a genius mathematician. What the housekeeper is told is that the Professor has memories up until 1975 which was the year he was in a car crash. From the brain injury he suffered his memory lasts only 80 minutes and then it is refreshed.

I have to say I really enjoyed this story. The writing is so elegant and clean, and I have to give props to the translator. It was really well done. My favorite parts in this book were the interactions of the Professor and the housekeepers son, Root (nicknamed because his head reminded the Professor of the square root sign). Actually, I loved all the interactions of the three characters. It is a very endearing story and will make you feel good by the end of it.

The math theories and things was never overly demanding and even if you never enjoyed it in high school you will come to appreciate the way Ogawa uses it in her novel.

While math is a large part of this book, so is baseball. In Japan baseball is really huge and so I enjoyed seeing a glimpse into that part of Japanese culture.
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