I am in love with the calm and sober writing of most Japanese authors, but this book was something else. The housekeeper gets posted at a new client - a mathematics professor with memory loss after 1975 and a short term memory of only 80 minutes. What sounds like a recipe for disaster turns into a lovely story about finding friendship under uncommon circumstances, different ways of expressing love and affection and that family does not necessarily need blood relations. I felt like I was part of the story the entire time, an invisible guest in the small cottage of the professor, dwelling in his study, sitting in the kitchen, joining them on their adventures. Definitely a book that will leave you in thoughts after you’ve finished it.

How does a man live with only 80 minutes of memory? The story is heartwarming and I am really glad I had the option to read it. Live is difficult if your memory leaves you behind. The story of the professor and the housemaid pictures a friendship of two really differend people bonding over a 10 year old boy. I really enjoyed the book and would recommend you give it a try. Please remember reading is subjective.

I know nothing about baseball and math breaks my brain AND YET this tender, beautiful thing made me cry at the train station - 4.5/5* rounded up for The Feels. This novel moves slowly, reading it feels a bit like being cradled in a rocking chair. A loaded metaphor full of nostalgic melancholy, yes, but the vibes fit with it and the comforting, nurturing nature of this book calls for it. Through its narrative pov it never gives the reader the full picture yet it deals in the absolute truths of numbers and human connection. My heart is very fuzzy and full. TW: chronic illness - memory loss conditions; in a way death and grief are themes, but it's hard to describe, they are not immediate, death doesn't happen on the page for example, but grief still lingers in the corners