The beauty of figures plucked from an infinite numerical pool forms part of the theme of Yoko Ogawa's novel, which is also a celebration of an improbable friendship.
The narrator is a housekeeper sent to work for a former mathematics professor suffering partial brain damage from the aftereffects of a car crash. The professor is in the care of his sister-in-law, with whom he once had an intimate but unspecified relationship that only she is able to recall.
His memory has not been wiped out, but is limited to a fixed span. Likened to an 80-minute videotape, his retention is as concise in its limitations as his mental calculations and calibrations of numbers are limitless.