The Housekeeper and the Professor in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jul 12, 2021 Jennifer W rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-re-read

Can I go back an reread this like 8 more times, right now? Or perhaps 11 would be more fitting. Or 28?

At any rate, best book so far of the year, and it's going to take something delivered to earth from literary heaven by a consort of angels to top this. ...more

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Jan 20, 2014 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it really liked it

A very touching book. A math professor who was in a car crash about 20 years ago has only 80 minutes of new memory. He clips notes to his clothes to re-mind himself of important things (including his 80 minutes of memory). A housekeeper who has come to take care of him during week days has to introduce herself to him each day and show him his note about herself. Skeptic that I am, I went into the book looking for inconsistencies--places where the author slipped up and had the professor act in wa ...more

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Feb 11, 2022 Cora rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, maids, woman-author, asia, japan, 20th-century, amnesia, japanese-literature, friendship, relationships

This was a beautifully written book with great characters. It was a moving description of the relationship between people despite the difficulties of a mental disability. It makes the reader think about friendship and how you can know the people that you love, even if you can't remember them. It was a sweet story that the perfect feel good read for stressful times. ...more

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Sep 04, 2014 Martha rated it really liked it

I liked the story of the relationship the housekeeper and her son built with the professor, the math not as much. It might have been the closest I have ever gotten to appreciating the language of math, however.

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Feb 06, 2022 Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2022-aty-52

Prompt: set in the academe or a teacher in a lead role

It's a mark of excellent writing when it gets me to LIKE maths and cry over baseball results. The math concepts and baseball were explained simply. It was interesting how Root was the only named character. I also appreciated the voice of the audiobook reader who put me in a mindful state during her narration of simple housekeeping tasks. ...more

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Aug 17, 2018 Michele rated it it was amazing

This is my second book this year that had a lot of math interspersed in the story. Again, I didn’t mind it-someof it was very fascinating. This was such a wonderful story. It is not long but the pages are filled with thought provoking ideas.

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