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Book Review: The Housekeeper and the Professor

Sometimes you just know, you are going to love a book, even before opening it. The Housekeeper and the Professor was such a book, ticking all the boxes to a T. Japanese fiction ✓, profound existential topic ✓, love of mathematics ✓, heart-warming relations between unusual people ✓, shorter than 200 pages ✓

Due to an accident, a 64-year old professor is no longer able to recall any memories beyond the last 80 minutes, even if his memories pre accident are still present. So every day, when his housekeeper arrives, she has to introduce herself.

Math and numbers are the foundation for the professor’s life and the subject in which he seeks comfort. When talking about math he transforms from a small, shabby and frail elderly man to a passionate and engaging personality. He enjoys, not just explaining, but also discussing math with his new housekeeper, who can’t help being taken in. The housekeeper’s 10-year old boy develops kind of a bond with the professor; a bond which relies on the boy’s ability to understand the professor’s condition, but also on the professor’s unconditional fondness of children. Because to him it’s a perfect stranger turning up on his doorstep every day.

The Housekeeper and the Professor - Math

There is something profound about math. Our world, our lives, our circumstances change all the time and we have to navigate a path filled with uncertainties. There are very few indisputable constants in life, but math is one. In theory, you don’t have to remember math, you can always deduce it again. So in that sense, math is perfectly suited to a man, who has lost the ability to remember.

The Housekeeper and the Professor made me remember my own love of math. Number theory has never been my favourite discipline, but even I had to smile, when the professor illustrated the beauty of prime numbers, perfect numbers, amicable numbers and my favourite, imaginary numbers, to the housekeeper.

The Housekeeper and the Professor - Memories

Also, it made me – yet again – think about how memories affect our identity and sense of self. A similar theme was explored in the very different The Memory Police which Ogawa wrote before The Housekeeper and the Professor.

To me it is such an interesting topic to ponder on. In some sense we humans are the sum of our memories. Since the memories of the professor stopped accumulating, when he was in his 30s, in a way he is still around 30. I couldn’t help feeling sad, when the trio had a fun experience together, the type you keep talking about long after. But for the professor, the experience was forgotten after 80 minutes. On the other hand, the same was the case for awful rows and stressful incidents. It really gives the concept of “living in the moment” a whole new meaning.

There is no doubt though, the condition is confusing and scary. The world moves on, but you don’t follow. The professor still thought his favourite baseball team had the same players as they had at the time of his accident and if told otherwise, he got utterly distressed.

I’ve mentioned before, the parallel to Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. It may not be as extreme, but books like The Memory Police and The Housekeeper and the Professor certainly tell us something about these conditions as well.

The Housekeeper and the Professor - Feel Good

Despite of the philosophical take on memories, this is a feel-good story. Admittedly, life has not been kind to either the professor or the housekeeper. But the brief moments of shared joy over mathematics or their special celebration dinner in the professors house can surely warm the heart of even the most cynical reader.

As a bonus, I learned how to put an end to a brutal argument with one sentence:

\[ e^{i\pi }+1=0, \]

Because how can anyone possibly argue against such pure and exquisite beauty.

Rating: 5 out of 5.
Title: The Housekeeper and the Professor [2003], translated by Stephen Snyder [2009] 
Author: Yōko Ogawa,
Format: eBook
Genre: Japanese Fiction

35 comments

  1. Oh, do you think that this might be possible for someone for whom maths is not a friend? Simeone for whom the maths lessons at school were pure pointless torture? It sounds interesting, but your mentioning the M-word has put me off!

    • Yes, I do think it’s a wonderful book, even for people who are not keen on math. It might even make you like math a bit more (maybe…). I enjoyed reading about the professor’s explanations, but essentially it’s his passion about the subject which is key, rather than the subject itself. Sorry about using the M-word! 😉

      • If you think it might help me understand this to me inaccessible discipline, maybe I should. I will add it to my TBR list … maybe not quite a at the top though 😉

  2. I really like books with something profound to say, and find maths beautiful, so I’ll definitely be checking it out. The premise seems really interesting. I’m curious as to what part maths plays in your life at the moment. I’m still in school, so I learn new mathematical concepts frequently, but wonder what will happen once I leave.

    • Ah, I hope you will enjoy it, if you decide to go ahead. On the surface it’s a cosy, little read, but it definitely provides food for thought as well.

      Gosh, that is a big question. After school, I went on to take a masters degree which included lots of applied mathematics (yup, I really did love math 😉). Depending on which job you end up with, you may not do that much math, once you leave school and uni, but the ability to deduce and apply logic is useful whatever career you decide to pursue. Also, math is the language used for lots of disciplines (natural sciences, finance, AI, computer sciences, etc.) and there will always be an upper limit of how well you can get to know these subjects if you are not familiar with math. Sry for the long answer, don’t even know if I answered your question. 🙄😆

      • It’s very interesting to hear about where maths can take you. I’m hoping to study politics and sociology at uni, so I imagine I’ll still be dealing with a lot of statistics, but I suppose I’ll lose a lot of the pure maths that I enjoy. I definitely agree that maths gives a strong foundation in logic, and I think that studying it has made me more pragmatic in my approach to problems in the humanities. Don’t worry about the long answer, I quite liked it.

        • Politics and sociology sounds interesting! To be honest, I think the important thing about taking an education is to learn how to learn. I’ve worked with people in very technical jobs, who studied archeology or history, so if you have the will and the talent it doesn’t matter too much what you’ve studied (don’t mean to disillusion you – it was meant as encouragement…).

          • I agree with the sentiment – I think keeping an open mind and being curious will allow anyone to be flexible. This feels especially relevant now, with the uncertainty of what the future holds. I’ve gone through my education trying to learn as broadly as possible so far and I’m hoping that will continue into the future.

          • I am definitely the last person on earth who should give advice about these things, since I’ve never done any career planning, whatsoever. But keeping an open mind and being curious has worked exceedingly well for me so far, so I don’t think that’s a bad starting point. As you say, we live in an uncertain world!

    • I am keen to pursue more of her works. I assume she doesn’t always write about the meaning of memories?!

  4. Ah, I’m interested in this book. Maths are a mystery to me. I’m always awed by science programmes which feature a blackboard covered with numbers and symbols. I remember reading, that to the Greeks, Maths were mythical and magic. I appreciate that it must be so. Perhaps this book was written for people like me? I’m going to give it a go anyway. Thanks for the review.

    • I really hope you will enjoy it, if you decide to read it and that it will increase rather than reduce your interest in math. In a way math is magical, it includes some utterly strange, but fundamental concepts, such as zero, i.e. nothing and infinity and it’s amazing what you do with math. Thanks for stopping by!

  5. This sounds lovely indeed – thanks for the recommendation! 🙂 I’ll keep this title in mind for when I need something short and uplifting.

    • It really was lovely, but certainly not sugary or sentimental. Maybe one for the holiday?

      • My holidays are a bit upside down, like everything down here 😉 So I will be spending them on the beach or hiking – not much time for reading, I’m afraid! 😀

        • Lucky you! I would love to do some hiking or outdoor swimming at the moment. Instead, I am in lockdown in a big city and (it feels like) it’s raining all the time. 😉 Still looking forward to the holidays, though!

  7. Wow, that is such a beautiful premise! And this sentence, “Because how can anyone possibly argue against such pure and exquisite beauty.” It just captures love for both maths and science even though you meant it more specifically here!! I definitely look forward to reading this book!!

    • Yes, it really is a beautiful one, which also provides food for thought. I hope you will get to read it one day. And it is not a prerequisite to like math in order to enjoy it. 🙂

  8. This sounds truly lovely and your own love for it has convinced me to give it a try when the time is right! Math used to be my favourite subject back in the day before I went down the criminology road. The certainty coming from irrefutable deduction was just too appealing to ignore for me hahah Fantastic review! 😀

    • Oh, you do criminology, that must be so fascinating! I did notice you always have Exhibit A at the end of your reviews – or is that completely unrelated? I love mathematical deduction. The first time I saw a mathematical proof as a kid (Pythagoras) I was sold! Thanks Laashan. 😊

  9. I’m terrible at math but I do love that the rules to follow in math are clear and straightfoward, not like language with its many exceptions and backdoors. This novel certainly sounds like a warm novel with caring people and treasured moments. I’d like to read this one some day! Great review!

    • Yes, that is what I like as well. There aren’t any “yeah, but then again on the other hand…” in math. It is very clear and either you get it right or you don’t. Thanks Inge, I think you’d enjoy this one!

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