29 April 2015

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Hey everyone,


Today I’m reviewing The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, arguably a comedy with strong-romantic elements, rather than a contemporary romance. This book has been out for over two years and is extremely well-known, therefore I decided it was about time I read it for myself and see what all the fuss is about!

The book:

Im not good at understanding what other people want.

“Tell me something I don’t know...”

Love isn’t an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman. A handsome thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don’s never had a second date. So he devises The Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner. Enter Rosie - ‘the world’s most incompatible woman’ - throwing Don’s safe, ordered life into chaos. Just what is this unsettling, alien emotion he’s feeling?

My thoughts:

Is it weird that I donreally know how I feel about The Rosie Project? It was an easy read and I pretty much devoured it in two days but now looking back on some of the scenes I cant really explain why I enjoyed it.


I know other people have found this book hilarious and although it was amusing, I never laughed out-loud or under-the-breath-chuckled. Perhaps this is because the majority of the humour found in The Rosie Project revolves around the social awkwardness of the main character Don Tillman. I personally loved Don for his awkwardness in social situations, his inability to understand sarcasm and his general approach to life.

‘You have a supply of jackets? In every possible size?’ I did not add that the need to maintain such an inventory was surely evidence of their failure to communicate the rule clearly, and that it would be more efficient to improve their wording or abandon the rule altogether’.

He really is the literary alternative to Sheldon Cooper. Whether that was Graeme Simsion’s intention I don’t know, but arguably that is the result. Throughout the course of the book we follow Don as he struggles to ‘fit-in’ and find a wife with the help of his friends Claudia and Gene. Being a scientist Don quickly decides that the most efficient form of finding a partner is through an intensive questionnaire. This aims to eliminate the number of dates with ‘unsuitable' women that Don will have to endure. Yet for some reason he can’t stop thinking about Rosie and her problems. Sure she’s completely unsuitable but she makes him feel alive, she challenges his ordered existence and instead exposes him to new activities... Such as Baseball. I actually thought the New York Trip were some of the cutest chapters in the entire book. Don really opened up, becoming more confident and accepting of himself. All of which was only possible because of Rosie’s gentle encouragement.

“You should insist on being informed.’ I stabbed the same finger to indicate a full stop. This was quite fun.

“My mother’s dead. She died in a car accident when I was ten. She never told anyone who my father was - not even Phil”. 

Of course the main focus on this novel isn’t Rosie and Don’s relationship but instead revolves around Rosie’s hunt for her biological father and Don’s involvement in this scheme. I quite enjoyed this story-line and it was interesting reading about it from an outsiders (Don’s) viewpoint. As apart form his burgeoning friendship with Rosie he had no emotional involvement in the outcome. I believe most romance readers will enjoy this book because although the romance between Don and Rosie isn’t conventional or even particularly emphasised the entirety of the novel arguably hinges on their growing partnership. Certainly the emergence of Rosie as an enormous impact on Don’s life.

My rating:
Happy reading everyone and see you next time!

No comments:

Post a Comment