The Housekeeper and the Professor: ‘a poignant tale of beauty, heart and sorrow’ Publishers Weekly

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While browsing through the Professor's baseball card collection in the cookie tin, the Housekeeper discovers an old photograph of a younger Professor and his sister-in-law. The condition of Krauss's victim is merely retrograde, meaning historical memories only are affected. And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. This melange constitutes the cast of a charming story of mathematics and love, subjects with a connection that is less than obvious. The author seemed perfectly separated from her subject, at her observational best, understanding, but uninvolved.

He lives in a world of Platonic forms - the apotheosis of which are numbers - that are independent not only him but of the world itself. His memories prior to the accident, however, remain crystal clear, and he survives off the generosity of his widowed sister-in-law, on whose property he lives. The professor believed that the very origins of the universe could be explained in the exact language of numbers. I knew that each of them would be given a fitting, lovely conclusion that wrapped up the tale with dignity, ending it not with a bang, but a whisper. Cassandra Campbell is an awesome narrator and I have listened to her numerous times, and loved each narration.until you see it at last, the oasis of another prime number, a place of rest and cool, clear water . The housekeeper, her young son, and the professor create beautiful times together in these 80 minute snips. She was hired by the Professor's sister-in-law through the housekeeping agency and is the tenth housekeeper the Professor has gone through.

However, shortly after he recovers, she receives word from the agency that she’s been reassigned at the request of the widow. Thus her interactions with the Professor, who only remembers the last 80 minutes, and will therefore explain things again and again and still feel just as excited about doing so, allow her a share in beauty and kindness and higher understanding that has never been within the possibilities of her experience. Her joy is quiet and contained and hidden, subject to the permission of authority figures for its existence, not to be depended on, as likely to quickly disappear as not. This is Ogawa's first novel to be translated into English, and Stephen Snyder has done an exceptionally elegant job. In her last years, my grandmother could not remember how old I was or how many kids I had or that I had kids at all, but if I mentioned Ernie Banks, her eyes lit up.

The Housekeeper and the Professor is sweet story about the relationship between a Mathematics professor, his maid and her son. The housekeeper's tale is self-effacing and modest, with only the barest of facts given to let the reader know why her relationship with the Professor is possible, and why it means so much to her. The practicalities and humour of coping with the prof's condition are well portrayed, and the relationships are very touching. Thus, I was moved by the relationship of the three characters in this slim novel, and enjoyed trying to solve the math proofs along with the housekeeper and hoped upon hope that the professor’s dementia would improve even though from experience I knew it would not.