I had bought this book for one of my best friends on a trip to Germany. It always seemed weird to me that I had bought a Japanese book from a german bookstore but back then it was hard to find Japanese literature. My apprehension about this book grew when I read the back cover. It had to do with numbers. Oy. Math and I? We are sworn enemies. All throughout my entire career as a student I hated numbers with a passion. Never understood them, never followed the rationale behind them. To this day I cringe whenever someone mentions probabilities and matrices.
I didn’t know I could handle an entire book about a mathematician.
I’m glad I gave it a go. It was a sweet, kind read. Nothing fussy, nothing angst-ridden, just this quiet sadness that permeates this world we inhabit for 180 pages. The professor cannot remember anything for more than 80 minutes. It’s really heartbreaking. However, seeing how the housekeeper and her son managed to connect with him through numbers was perfect and adorable.
The ending did leave me a bit hanging. Maybe because I didn’t want it to end or maybe because it felt so abrupt.
Whatever the case, if you’re looking for an endearing and easy read, this is the way to go.
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