The Rosie Project review

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is minorly spoilery, but I’m not going to mark it as such. You can look at the cover and summary of this book, and realize for yourself that we won’t be sobbing tears of sadness and heartbreak at the end.

I originally gave this three stars and then after sleeping on it, upped it to four.

Don Tillman is a 39 year old genetics professor who lives a very literal and organized life. He decides it’s time to find a wife so he turns to his colleague Gene and his wife Claudia to help him with The Wife Project. Next thing he knows, the highly unsuitable Rosie shows up at his office. And hijinks ensue. This reminded me of a 1960s slapstick romantic comedy and it made me smile.

I think it’s easy to get tied up in the whole Aspergers storyline and see the Rosie Project as what “fixed” Don’s condition – whatever it may be. But it’s more a story of Don – a guy who’s decidedly not your typical dude – and how he learned about relationships, love, and living. He’s not going to be fixed. But he, like we, can learn.

It’s a super-quick and fun read but not a manifesto on the care and feeding of a person with Aspergers. Nobody’s going to read this book and say “Aspies are easy to love and I’m going to snag me one!”

I’ll read the sequel, too.

This was the 43rd book I read in 2014. View all my reviews on Goodreads!