63 pages • 2 hours read
Yoko OgawaThe Housekeeper and the Professor
Yoko OgawaFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Book Brief
192
Novel • Fiction
Japan • Contemporary
2003
Adult
15+ years
940L
Super Short Summary
In The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, a housekeeper is assigned to care for a former mathematics professor who suffers from a memory condition that limits his recall to 80-minute intervals. As she and her young son develop a bond with him, they share moments of mathematical discovery and baseball, creating a profound and touching friendship despite the professor's condition.
Contemplative
Bittersweet
Emotional
Melancholic
Reviews & Readership
85,216 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Review Roundup
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa is widely praised for its elegant prose and poignant exploration of memory, mathematics, and human connections. Some critics find the pacing slow, but the book's strengths lie in its emotional depth and the tender relationships it depicts. Overall, it is a beautifully crafted and intellectually engaging novel.
Who Should Read The Housekeeper and the Professor?
The ideal reader for The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa enjoys heartwarming tales of unlikely friendships, appreciates the beauty of mathematics, and revels in quiet, introspective narratives. Fans of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief will find similar emotional depth and poignancy.
85,216 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
192
Novel • Fiction
Japan • Contemporary
2003
Adult
15+ years
940L
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