Book Review: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Paperback Publication Date: June 3, 2014
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.
Don Tillman, a genetics professor who is most likely on the autism spectrum, (although it’s never explicitly stated) has decided it’s time to take a wife. What better way to find one than with a detailed questionnaire? It’s simple logic. Enter Rosie Jarman. She is clearly not wife material – she’s spontaneous, she’s late, she drinks alcohol and she smokes. However, Don agrees to help her find her biological father even though he would never marry her.
Don is a lot like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory – he cannot see through sarcasm or irony. As such, his internal monologue can be quite hilarious. He maintains a rigid schedule. For instance, to reduce “cognitive load”, he has devised a Standardized Meal System. He rotates cooking seven dinners, one for every night of the week. Tuesdays are lobster nights. Any deviation from his routine makes him uncomfortable. When Rosie comes into his life, his routine goes off-kilter almost immediately.
In spite of Don’s quirks, he is a sweet man and I found him endearing. Rosie is baffled by him at first but they grow to somewhat understand each other. They are really funny together – I enjoyed the humor of The Rosie Project so much that I immediately read the next two books of the Rosie trilogy! Highly recommended.
