This is a beautifully written and touching story about a mathematician with short-term memory loss and the relationship forged with his housekeeper. As a person often fascinated with mathematics and with numbers I also enjoyed the frequent references to mathematics - they were not particularly challenging or difficult, but illustrative and interesting. I also enjoyed the "foreignness" and simplicity of the housekeeper. Much was said by implication rather than explication and I always view this as the mark of a fine writer.

I did not give it a higher rating because of a few things. It was rather short - in some ways more like a long-short-story than a novel. I wanted more depth and complexity from the characters than this brevity provided. Also I found the relationship with the housekeeper's son and the mathematician's relative to be less than fully satisfactory. They seemed less believable than the main characters. Nevertheless, a worthwhile and enjoyable book.