What a pleasure to read a book about my field, mathematics. My only gripe is that the popular books on mathematicians have them being autistic and/or socially abnormal in some way or other.
A short, sweet book with the positive message that everyone, including 80-minute men, make a contribution to the betterment of the world. All the characters are endearing, even quaint. The use of the English language was a bit too bland for my taste, but maybe that was the tranlation.
I’m always trying to pinpoint just why the author wrote, and published, the book we are reading at the time. One common answer that I come up with is, as an exercise. An etude wherein authors set themselves certain rules and guidelines and try to achieve a goal within those rules. I often thought Robert Parker took on challenges just such as this to prove to his students that they could do it. He’s the one who wrote the same detective story scores of times over the years, changing only genders, races, or historical settings.
Ogawa’s writing has all the rhythm of a standard novel: emotional ups and downs, plotlines going backwards and forwards. It has excellent character development and by the end, we have bonded with, and shed a tear for the Professor.
However, this reading is almost more of a prose poem than a short novel or novella. Trying to describe the book, I want to say it is like a Japanese water-color depiction of a misty morning view of the hills across a river valley.
There is no thematic drama, which is usually found in the Western novel. Not one of the seven deadly sins plays a part in this prose: not wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, nor gluttony.
Aging takes place of course, since it is a memoir sort of narrative, but even this is peaceful. Changes take place, but in years, decades, not suddenly. Dementia slowly takes the Professor away; the boy grows up, middle-age leaves the housekeeper basically unchanged.
The epilogue is predictable, as is the whole plotline advancement, but the reader doesn’t care much, because it’s classic schmaltz. My unofficial poll, taken in people’s moments of weakness, indicates that 83% of the adult, TV-viewing audience watches at least one Hallmark Theater production a week, and 70% of that 83% watch right up until and through the tear-inducing final scenes.
PS: My favorite game, with kids, on long automobile trips (last one 1997,) is factoring license plate numbers (difficult these days with vanity (see sin on right) plates. What are the prime factors of your plate.? Mine are KGGV 951. {3 X 317}.
A short, sweet book with the positive message that everyone, including 80-minute men, make a contribution to the betterment of the world. All the characters are endearing, even quaint. The use of the English language was a bit too bland for my taste, but maybe that was the tranlation.
I’m always trying to pinpoint just why the author wrote, and published, the book we are reading at the time. One common answer that I come up with is, as an exercise. An etude wherein authors set themselves certain rules and guidelines and try to achieve a goal within those rules. I often thought Robert Parker took on challenges just such as this to prove to his students that they could do it. He’s the one who wrote the same detective story scores of times over the years, changing only genders, races, or historical settings.
Ogawa’s writing has all the rhythm of a standard novel: emotional ups and downs, plotlines going backwards and forwards. It has excellent character development and by the end, we have bonded with, and shed a tear for the Professor.
However, this reading is almost more of a prose poem than a short novel or novella. Trying to describe the book, I want to say it is like a Japanese water-color depiction of a misty morning view of the hills across a river valley.
There is no thematic drama, which is usually found in the Western novel. Not one of the seven deadly sins plays a part in this prose: not wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, nor gluttony.
Aging takes place of course, since it is a memoir sort of narrative, but even this is peaceful. Changes take place, but in years, decades, not suddenly. Dementia slowly takes the Professor away; the boy grows up, middle-age leaves the housekeeper basically unchanged.
The epilogue is predictable, as is the whole plotline advancement, but the reader doesn’t care much, because it’s classic schmaltz. My unofficial poll, taken in people’s moments of weakness, indicates that 83% of the adult, TV-viewing audience watches at least one Hallmark Theater production a week, and 70% of that 83% watch right up until and through the tear-inducing final scenes.
PS: My favorite game, with kids, on long automobile trips (last one 1997,) is factoring license plate numbers (difficult these days with vanity (see sin on right) plates. What are the prime factors of your plate.? Mine are KGGV 951. {3 X 317}.
On the right.
See a painting of the sin of Vanity (or pride): One of the Seven Deadly Sins.
No comments:
Post a Comment