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Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'
The Housekeeper and the Professor: A Novel by Yōko Ogawa
30 reviews
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Made me cry, made me smile, made me love mathematics again.
Content Warnings
Minor: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Dementia, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia
Moderate: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh. I’m moved and stirred and saddened and feeling so tender after reading this book.
The relationships between the narrator, the professor, and her son was so lovely. I even respected the widow by the end. The way they loved each other and showed each other their devotion was beautiful.
The parallel metaphors of all the mathematics and numbers were poetic. It also reignited my love of math. I was a terrible math student, but I’ve always loved how math could explain almost everything that needed explaining in the world.
Only thing I can't understand is the 80-minute clock. If I told him something at the 79th minute, shouldn't he still remember it the 81st-minute since the first minute of the 80-minute countdown since a fresh 80-minutes would start with every new minute? Instead, it felt like the clock only worked once a day...maybe I misunderstood the writing, or maybe something got lost in translation. I'm probably overthinking it, because that was certainly not the point of the book. Still, I'm curious how the professor would explain it to me.
My mom always said that the chance to teach someone is a gift and that it was upon the teacher to be infinitely patient. My grandfather had taught her that. For this reason, I kind of see the professor as I would see my grandfather.
I can see why it won so many awards. Every one was well-deserved.
The relationships between the narrator, the professor, and her son was so lovely. I even respected the widow by the end. The way they loved each other and showed each other their devotion was beautiful.
The parallel metaphors of all the mathematics and numbers were poetic. It also reignited my love of math. I was a terrible math student, but I’ve always loved how math could explain almost everything that needed explaining in the world.
Only thing I can't understand is the 80-minute clock. If I told him something at the 79th minute, shouldn't he still remember it the 81st-minute since the first minute of the 80-minute countdown since a fresh 80-minutes would start with every new minute? Instead, it felt like the clock only worked once a day...maybe I misunderstood the writing, or maybe something got lost in translation. I'm probably overthinking it, because that was certainly not the point of the book. Still, I'm curious how the professor would explain it to me.
My mom always said that the chance to teach someone is a gift and that it was upon the teacher to be infinitely patient. My grandfather had taught her that. For this reason, I kind of see the professor as I would see my grandfather.
I can see why it won so many awards. Every one was well-deserved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was such a wonderful book that made me wish my dyscalculia didn't make me awful at maths.
Having experience with both relatives and family friends with dementia and Alzheimer's and having in-house care for one of said relatives, this book felt very authentic in the portrayal of how each day may have a strict schedule for carer and patient to adhere to but there's always an element of randomness. It also did a good job of humanising the professor without being melodramatic about his situation; of course it's sad that he lost such a huge chunk of his life to a brain condition, but he is still human. I'm also glad it showed that trying to get someone with Dementia/Alzheimer's to "live in reality" is a very cruel, damaging thing to do, but that the incident where it happened was an accident and the housekeeper and her son are very careful to manage their words next time.
I suppose my only complaint if I had to give one was that the housekeeper often felt static compared to both the Professor and her son, and was more a means to facilitate the friendship between the pair.
Having experience with both relatives and family friends with dementia and Alzheimer's and having in-house care for one of said relatives, this book felt very authentic in the portrayal of how each day may have a strict schedule for carer and patient to adhere to but there's always an element of randomness. It also did a good job of humanising the professor without being melodramatic about his situation; of course it's sad that he lost such a huge chunk of his life to a brain condition, but he is still human. I'm also glad it showed that trying to get someone with Dementia/Alzheimer's to "live in reality" is a very cruel, damaging thing to do, but that the incident where it happened was an accident and the housekeeper and her son are very careful to manage their words next time.
I suppose my only complaint if I had to give one was that the housekeeper often felt static compared to both the Professor and her son, and was more a means to facilitate the friendship between the pair.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia
Moderate: Death, Blood, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If there's one thing that I always love in fiction is found family, just give me disparate people crossing each other's path by chance and forming long-lasting and life-changing relationships and I'll be content. The connection that develops between the housekeeper, her son and the professor is, without a doubt, my favourite aspect of the novel, it's heartwarming.
Maths and baseball are two other central elements and, while I understand how they contribute to and enrich the story, I have to be honest and say that at times it felt a bit too much. But this has a lot to do with me personally, as I am not well versed/knowledgeable or particularly interested in either of these topics.
I really enjoyed the writing style; there were many beautiful and poetic passages, especially descriptions of nature and musings by the main narrator, the housekeeper.
I felt that the story lost itself a bit towards the end. There is a big and quite abrupt temporal jump and then the conclusion approaches in a fast-paced way. Still, I really enjoyed the book overall and I would recommened it to someone looking for a quiet but moving exploration of found family.
Maths and baseball are two other central elements and, while I understand how they contribute to and enrich the story, I have to be honest and say that at times it felt a bit too much. But this has a lot to do with me personally, as I am not well versed/knowledgeable or particularly interested in either of these topics.
I really enjoyed the writing style; there were many beautiful and poetic passages, especially descriptions of nature and musings by the main narrator, the housekeeper.
I felt that the story lost itself a bit towards the end. There is a big and quite abrupt temporal jump and then the conclusion approaches in a fast-paced way. Still, I really enjoyed the book overall and I would recommened it to someone looking for a quiet but moving exploration of found family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Animal death, Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a beautiful book. Very sad, but beautiful. I’m moved by the compassion and love shown by all the characters for each other, and the way math was interwoven into the story helped us get a better understanding of The Professor and how the other characters related to him. The author shows a deep understanding of math and explains it with a beauty and music even a layperson like myself can appreciate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Death
Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you enjoy math, then this story may resonate more with you than it did for me. Perhaps its because I didn't understand the math, but this was a solid, well written story, but just didn't hit me. It was still engaging enough for me to keep reading and want to read more of Yoko Ogawa's other work. I also enjoyed the examination on love in its forms and relationships through the themes and situation. But it just didn't hit me--like it was supposed to be deeper than it was and I just didn't get it. If math is your jam, along with heartwarming tales of friendship and growth, then perhaps consider it. I read it for free at a library, and that's probably the reason why the score isn't lower.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Death of parent