I may have FFBed this book before because I read it a few years ago first, after I read Ogawa's MEMORY POLICE. They are very different books as it MINA'S MATCHBOXES, which I read a few months ago. This is my favorite of the three. The housekeeper (unnamed) is hired to care for a older math professor who has a brain injury leaving him with a memory of only the last eighty minutes. She and her son, named Root by the professor due to his head shape and it's likeness to the sign for square root, are enriched by this relationship, and he with them. There is a lot of math in this book, which I got very little of, but it didn't really matter because this is a story about how a family can be people related to each other or people who enjoy each other even if for only eighty minutes at a time. A wonderful book, uplifting in a time we need it.
I haven't tried Ogawa's books yet, but I think you've convinced me. I take it she is writing in English with these, as opposed to being translated by others?
ReplyDeleteAh, this one was translated by Stephen Snyder.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds appealing, Patti. I haven't read a lot of books with a math theme. It's not my strength, but the story sounds rich.
ReplyDeleteI want to read this book and the other two you mentioned. I have a kindle of Memory Police but I will be looking for the other two also. No luck at the book sale, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteIt was a rich story and I think my favorite of the three.
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