An unique novel, in more ways than one. A housekeeper is sent to care for a mathematics professor who has a memory span of 80 minutes (as a result of a car accident many years back). Thus, every day she must reintroduce herself to the Professor (neither he, nor she, in fact, have names). He asks for her telephone number and birth date, and uses such numbers to familiarize himself, and communicate, with her. One day she tells him she has a 10 year old son, and thus must rush home; he insists she bring him to his cabin and feed him there. On seeing the boy, the Professor nicknames him root, as he says that the boy's head reminds him of the square root symbol - √
The professor teaches them about prime numbers and other kinds of numbers, and turns out to be a rabid baseball fan; but for his memory ending in 1985, he and Root share a love for the Hanshin Tigers. Root and his mother develop love for the Professor.
In reading the book, I developed some of the interest in, and infatuation with, numbers that she did; I also saw parts of Japanese culture that are part of the author's descriptions and narrative. A beautiful, simple, engrossing book. A gem.
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