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A review by ssuprnova
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa
5.0
What a charming little book!! I literally JUST finished it and i am moved to tears. Not sad ones- i was expecting tragedy and it fortunately didnt come, but i feel all shaken up inside
Listen, i hate math. Like, as a personality trait. I have lost count of the amount of times i have shed frustration tears due to an equation. So what posessed me to even pick up this book? I dont know. In theory, i should have been immediately turned off. You open it and youre hit with a math riddle that i, for one, could not wrap my head around. And its like that for a lot of the book, this professor explaining math theory, and the housekeeper and her son following along, while i read and pretend that i know what the hell they're talking about.
And the thing is, it matters and it doesnt, because even if your brain is full of pudding like mine is, you still understand the spirit of it. I still cant do math for shit, but now at least i see the beauty in it. I understand why someone could like it.
The book puts a magnifying glass to everyday life in a way im starting to think is very much a japanese literature thing, and i mean that as a big compliment. It reflects on the small pleasures, on what it means to seek and find connection, on the small hardships. Things dont have to be grandiose and extraordinary. Sometimes, things have value just because they happen, and they exist.
The characters are all incredibly endearing and the bond between them is extremely touching, even if it has to be formed over and over again. Its simultaneously happy and sad, and my heart is so, so full. I loved it, so much.
Listen, i hate math. Like, as a personality trait. I have lost count of the amount of times i have shed frustration tears due to an equation. So what posessed me to even pick up this book? I dont know. In theory, i should have been immediately turned off. You open it and youre hit with a math riddle that i, for one, could not wrap my head around. And its like that for a lot of the book, this professor explaining math theory, and the housekeeper and her son following along, while i read and pretend that i know what the hell they're talking about.
And the thing is, it matters and it doesnt, because even if your brain is full of pudding like mine is, you still understand the spirit of it. I still cant do math for shit, but now at least i see the beauty in it. I understand why someone could like it.
The book puts a magnifying glass to everyday life in a way im starting to think is very much a japanese literature thing, and i mean that as a big compliment. It reflects on the small pleasures, on what it means to seek and find connection, on the small hardships. Things dont have to be grandiose and extraordinary. Sometimes, things have value just because they happen, and they exist.
The characters are all incredibly endearing and the bond between them is extremely touching, even if it has to be formed over and over again. Its simultaneously happy and sad, and my heart is so, so full. I loved it, so much.