"The Rosie Project" By: Graeme Simsion Review

The Rosie Project

By: Graeme Simsion

Synopsis

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.
The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

My Thoughts
     A few weeks ago when the Goodreads 2013 Best Reads were revealed, I read about a little book called The Rosie Project. It looked cute, had great reviews, but what drew me to it was the possibility of the quirky romance. What I thought this book was though and what it turned out to be were two completely different things.
      Don is a highly successful professor who has never been able to maintain any sort of a relationship during his adult life. If he had been diagnosed, he would probably have been told he had asperger's. He has only a very select number of friends, has a hard time in social situations, and really has never had a romantic relationship with anyone. So he begins the “Wife Project,” a way to both gain a wife and maybe simple companionship. In his methodical way, Don creates a checklist for his perfect wife and questionnaire perspective women can fill out if they’d like to fill the position.
      Before the Wife Project can begin in earnest, Don meets Rosie. Sloppy, slightly wild, impetuous and a smoker, Don knows she doesn’t qualify. Rosie is in need of help though, she’s searching for her real father. Don being a whiz with DNA and the study of genetics, they set out to find her biological father.
     The story is told through Don’s perspective, which I will admit threw me a bit off. He has a different view of the world and what he understands may not be what everyone else sees and understands. There are lots of undercurrents so there is a little detective work to really see between the lines.
      To be completely honest, I also thought there would be a little more romance. I wanted that grand gesture but the end just seemed to fizzle out for me. The beginning of the book was interesting, I loved Rosie, but the end seemed long, and really dragged out. I hated Don’s one and only male friend (he cheated on his wife incessantly). An ok read but not in my top 10 for the year at all.

Book Details

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date of Publication: October 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1476729084

# of Pages: 304

Source: Library Checkout