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reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A quiet novel about a mathematician and the people who grow to love him.
Ogawa manages to make numbers lyrical, emotive and comforting. The Professor is such a well rounded character, awkward and kind.
The Housekeeper is less endearing*, though patient and considerate. I appreciated the way she supported the professor, altering her behaviours to accommodate for him. Showing an understanding of what he needed.
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*Struggled with the evident neglect of Root. A large portion of which I understood as she clearly had no other choice (single mother requiring long shifts), but then she passively mentioned intentionally crying to get her child to comfort her - as early as his single digit years. From then on all I could see was parentification.
Ogawa manages to make numbers lyrical, emotive and comforting. The Professor is such a well rounded character, awkward and kind.
The Housekeeper is less endearing*, though patient and considerate. I appreciated the way she supported the professor, altering her behaviours to accommodate for him. Showing an understanding of what he needed.
—————————————————————————
*Struggled with the evident neglect of Root. A large portion of which I understood as she clearly had no other choice (single mother requiring long shifts), but then she passively mentioned intentionally crying to get her child to comfort her - as early as his single digit years. From then on all I could see was parentification.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Abandonment
Minor: Dementia
CW [Minor] for dementia is for occasional similarities between the Professors amnesia and dementia - the latter isn’t actually present
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Medical trauma
Minor: Car accident
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Grief
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
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
No
this was such an amazing read. the characters are so developed and the writing was exceptional. the connections formed between the characters were so wholesome and i just felt so deeply for these characters and their lives. i would 100% recommend this again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment