The Housekeeper and the Professor
by Yoko Ogawa
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Book Reviews of The Housekeeper and the Professor
Book Review: Perhaps over-rated
Summary: 3 Stars
For fiction, it's a very good story. The problem is that there's a lot of extraneous stuff in it that doesn't have much rhyme or reason. For example, what's the deal with the dead fawn that ran into the housekeeper's gravestone? What's the purpose of the professor being able to talk backwards? A good piece of fiction is first and foremost a good story. I'm an engineer, and have been through a lot of advanced math classes. The twists of math demonstrated in the book are absolutely necessary to convey the professor's personal obsession and love of math. But beyond that it's mental gymnastics. I think those with less of a math background would actually be more drawn to the math, and get an added kick from the book.
Someone in my book club likened the book to a piece of Asian art, that leaves a lot to interpretation. To me, all the extraneous stuff was painted into the book, around the story, to give readers something to feel perplexed about. But it detracts from the heart of the story. The housekeeper and her son absolutely love the professor, and he loves them...notwithstanding the fact that every day they meet, he's meeting them anew. Imagine such a relationship that has no dependence on someone's memory of you, or yours of them...
Book Review: An absorbing story of an unlikely family
Summary: 5 Stars
The Professor is a brilliant mathematician who uniquely possesses only eighty minutes of short-term memory due to a car accident. His new housekeeper, a young woman who seems to be able to work with his memory issues, she has a son - Root - a ten-year-old whose head resembles the mathematical symbol. Somehow these three come together to form a family; she dotes on the professor, fascinated by his love for equations and theorems, he adores her son and provides a much-needed male influence, and Root connects with the Professor through a shared love of baseball. And while there are definitely challenges in caring for the Professor, the housekeeper does her best to keep his life running smoothly, developing her own love of numbers in the process.
The Housekeeper and the Professor is the first of Ogawa's novels to be translated into English. The 2003 Japanese version was tremendously popular, made so by Ogawa's simple, yet elegant writing style. This relatively short story is surprisingly complex and rich considering its length. Even math-haters will find themselves drawn into the Professor's explanations of equations and his innate knowledge of numbers. This book is a fantastic, quick, must read!
Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Book Review: A sensitive and elegant exploration of the fragility of memory
Summary: 4 Stars
The Housekeeper and the Professor is a sensitive portrait of coincidentally overlapping lives. The nameless housekeeper is hired to work for a mathematics professor who was injured in a car accident in 1975, leaving him with only 80-minutes of short-term memory--an internal tape that constantly overwrites itself. Beyond his 80-minute memory, the professor's only memories are those that existed prior to 1975. The professor, the housekeeper, and her ten-year-old son form a makeshift family, the professor becoming the father-figure that the son lacks. In the professor's 80-minute world, mathematics is his anchor, adding beauty, elegance, and a kind of order to his muddled existence:
"The mathematical order is beautiful precisely because it has no effect on the real world. Life isn't going to be easier, nor is anyone going to make a fortune, just because they know something about prime numbers. ... The only goal is to discover the truth."
Stephen Snyder's translation is elegant and unobtrusive. The Housekeeper and the Professor, in its own quiet and delicate way, reveals the unexpected depths hidden below the surface of damaged people and the fragility of memory.
Book Review: Highly Original
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Housekeeper and the Professor" is a unique and delightful novel, one of the most original books I've read.
We never learn the names of the 3 main characters in this story. Yes, as I said, an unusual book. The aging professor needs help living on his own. He has a short term memory problem - he can only remember things for 80 minutes. As a result, each morning when his housekeeper arrives for the day, he is (in his mind) meeting her for the first time.
Early in the book, the professor learns that his housekeeper has a 10 year old son. At his urging, the housekeeper and her son agree to join the professor for dinner each evening. Once the three dine together on a routine basis, the story begins to develop.
The relationship between these 3 characters makes the book. Strangely enough, they often use math to communicate. Whenever the professor needs to make small talk, he does so by discussing math. The housekeeper and her son soon follow the professor, a talented mathematician, and they too begin to appreciate math.
In some ways this book reminds me of a long short story rather than a novel. It's an enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
Book Review: Very enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
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.