Book Review: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Don Tillman, Associate Professor of Genetics decides he would like to have a partner and using his rather amplified sense of logic embarks on The Wife Project, which consists of plying a very pertinent questionnaire widely in as many social and non-social settings as possible. However, when Don meets Rosie, she seems to defy all sense of logic but Rosie herself has issues she needs to resolve, resulting in Don, inexplicably, taking on The Father Project to identify her biological father.

This hilarious but totally relatable character of Don is up there with Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and a part of everyone who has at some point in their life failed to understand the minutiae of nuances in the social setting. The Rosie Project, made me realise that as far as the spectrum of human behaviour is concerned we are all in it albeit at whichever deviation. Formal diagnoses aside I loved the irrational attraction of Rosie to Don and Don’s strengths despite being way out of his comfort zone. The characters of Don’s friends Claudia and Gene, are funny and warming as they help Don navigate a world of weird people he does not understand.

Although I am not a huge reader of humour books, I found this one laugh-out-loud funny and could not only identify with Don but find similarities between many of the characters and acquaintances I have had. The mystery of Rosie’s father was absorbing but I had guessed correctly who he would be quite early on, however that didn’t detract too much from the book as a whole. The characters in this book are extremely addictive and I’m glad the sequel is already out!