In "The Housekeeper and the Professor" by Yoko Ogawa, the story revolves around an elderly mathematician who, due to a head injury, can only retain memories for eighty minutes at a time. The professor forms a special bond with his housekeeper and her son, as they navigate the challenges of his condition while delving into the beauty of numbers and mathematics. The book explores themes of friendship, memory, and the significance of human relationships, all intertwined with a subtle undertone involving the fragility of memory and the eternal nature of numbers.

The novel is character-driven, focusing on the development of the three main characters - the professor, the housekeeper, and her son. Through the daily interactions between the characters, the author skillfully weaves in math concepts, showcasing the magic of numbers and how they bring this unlikely trio together. The writing style is described as quiet, tender, and beautifully poignant, leaving a lasting impact on the reader long after the final page is turned.

Characters:

The characters include a forgetful professor, a caring housekeeper, and her son, all of whom form a deep bond despite the professor's memory challenges.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is simple and lyrical, emphasizing the characters' emotions and relationships without unnecessary complexity.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot centers on the relationship between a housekeeper, her son, and a professor who suffers from short-term memory loss due to an accident, highlighting themes of connection and memory.

Setting:

The setting is a modest cottage in contemporary Japan, reflecting the simplicity of the characters' lives.

Pacing:

The pacing is gentle and reflective, allowing for deep emotional engagement without rushing the narrative.

"Yes, there is," he said, pointing at his chest. "It's in here. It'sthe most discreet sort of number, so it never comes out where itcan be seen. But it's here." We fell silent for a moment, trying top...

Notes:

The Housekeeper and the Professor was published in 2003 and translated into English later.

The protagonist, known as the Professor, suffers from short-term memory loss due to a car accident in 1975.

He can only remember new information for 80 minutes, necessitating daily reintroductions to those around him.

The narrative beautifully intertwines elements of mathematics, specifically number theory, with themes of memory and relationships.

The relationship between the Professor, the housekeeper, and her son highlights the significance of unconventional familial bonds.

The characters remain unnamed, emphasizing their roles and relationships over individual identities.

The novel reflects the beauty found in mathematics through the Professor's passion for numbers, illustrating how they connect human experiences.

Baseball also plays a thematic role, serving as common ground for the boy and the Professor, further building their friendship.

The book is notably short, under 200 pages, making it a quick yet impactful read.

Ogawa's writing is noted for its elegance and simplicity, inviting readers to feel the depth of the characters' connections.

From The Publisher:

Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.

He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem-ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory.

She is an astute young Housekeeper-with a ten-year-old son-who is hired to care for the Professor.

And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. Though he cannot hold memories for long (his brain is like a tape that begins to erase itself every eighty minutes), the Professor's mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her young son. The Professor is capable of discovering connections between the simplest of quantities-like the Housekeeper's shoe size-and the universe at large, drawing their lives ever closer and more profoundly together, even as his memory slips away.

Ratings (31)

Incredible (7)
Loved It (14)
Liked It (7)
Did Not Like (2)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (110):

Read It (33)
Want To Read (62)
Not Interested (15)

1 comment(s)

Pallavi

Incredible

7 months

****5.0****

A single mother of 10 year old Boy starts working as a housekeeper to an old Mathematics Professor. Her job is to clean the house, cook, buy stuff needed at home, help the old man with his daily chores. But here we have a problem, Professor has only 80 minutes of short memory due to an accident in 1975, which damaged some part of his brain. As soon as 80 mins are over, everything that he remembers i.e. recent 80 mins, wipes away. He tries to remember or takes decision on the notes pinned on his suit ( which he is wearing ) all the time.

Our housekeeper is not the one who gets irritated or exasperated by an old man's memory lapse. Instead she finds that this client is more interesting and less demanding. In their day to day interactions Professor introduces her to the fascinating world of numbers. Also there is Root, housekeeper's son who becomes attached to the professor. They bond over numbers and baseball.

A very good story, narrated very well. There are lot of mathematic topics (real simple if you actually think) and baseball details (which went over my head), but can be easily ignored. But main attraction is the relationships between the characters, so calm, so meaningful and heartbreaking. A real feel good story!

Happy Reading!!

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About the Author:

Yoko Ogawa's fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, A Public Space, and Zoetrope. Since 1988 she has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, and has won every major Japanese literary award. Her books include The Housekeeper and the Professor, Revenge, and The Diving Pool.

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The Housekeeper and the Professor

Yoko Ogawa