Madison news - the housekeeper + the professor by yoko ogawa

As with many beautiful things from Japan, the story of The Housekeeper + The Professor by Yoko Ogawa is understated, deceptively simple and laden with mysteries. Ogawa, who is a huge literary sensation in Japan but has only recently received recognition in the West, weaves the tale of a brilliant mathematician and his young, astute housekeeper.

A car accident some 17 years ago has left the professor with a memory that last only 80 minutes. For him, time stopped in 1975 – everything that’s happened since has been erased.

In a tumbledown shack at the back of his sister-in-law’s yard, the professor lives alone, solves maths problems and relies on reminder notes pinned to his suit. The most crucial of which: My memory only lasts 80 minutes.

Each day the housekeeper and her ten-year-old son, Root (knick-named by the professor because his flat head looks like the square root symbol, “a generous sign that gives shelter to all numbers”) re-introduce themselves and answer the professor’s questions, “What is your shoe size? When is your birthday?” In each number the professor finds a piece of magic and introduces the pair to his world of elegant equations, algorithms and riddles.

On the surface, it’s a simple story about an unlikely, endearing friendship. But delve a little further and you’ll find a stream of mysteries – what really happened between the professor and sister-in-law? Why is the professor so protective of Root? Can you love someone you can’t remember?

There’s no denying that the book is quiet, the characters are restrained, not a great deal happens and there is a lot of talk about maths. But even if the thought of maths leaves you yawning, it’s easy to by swept away by the professor’s passion for “exquisite, beautiful numbers”. You might even learn something along the way.

 Elizabeth Corfe