This was such a sweet and endearing experience. I totally fell in love with the characters and how intimate the MC and the professor's relationship felt. I was in the mood for a shorter, slice-of-life read and that's exactly what I got: a (somewhat bleak) portrayal of early 90s Japan, a found family book at its core and overall lovely experience. I could definitely feel the professor's loneliness. Also, I'm a complete zero (heh) at Math, and I don't know the first thing about baseball. This didn't affect my enjoyment of this in the slightest. I just wish we had gotten a few more answers concerning the accident, the past and maybe a few more developments along the way.
I fell in love with the characters in this book. I love how this feel like an intimist diary entry, from the MCs name being "Root" (the name she chose to provide us with, since it's of relevance to the Professor) and how endearing their relationship has come to be. I'm TERRIBLE at Math and thought the anecdotes would prove tiresome and boring for me... but that was not the case. The 80 minute memory is so tragic, and I honestly cannot stand the professor's daughter in law. I like how the setting is Hiroshima in 1992 – it's easier for me to visualise these characters and the passing of the seasons with this in mind.
I love the professor and Root's relationship and how much the main character has worked to accommodate his disability.
I have actually read this book before but it was very many years ago. I've also read two other books by Yoko Ogawa, the memory police and Mina's matchbook. I think she has a very calm tone in her writing that I really enjoy.
All in all, this was a solid 4.5 stars for me! I'm interested to reread more of Ogawa's work, specifically her earlier book "The Memory Police".