Book report: The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

Book report: The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

Genetics professor Don Tillman has trouble relating to people. He has his life scheduled down to the minute and eats exactly the same meals every week. He’s inflexible and human nuance is beyond him. When he gives a lecture on Asperger’s syndrome, he doesn’t notice that he has all the symptoms.

Still, he’s trying to meet the right woman, despite a series of dates that go hysterically bad. He comes up with the idea for The Wife Project, designed to administer questionnaires to large numbers of women, weed out the obvious mismatches, and produce a shortlist of wife candidates.

Then he meets Rosie.

Rosie is a mismatch in every possible category. Except that, he likes her and has fun with her.

Rosie has her own problems. First among them is trying to figure out who her biological father is. Her mother is dead, and never told her, and her life seems to be stuck until she sorts this out. That’s why she first connects with Don: as a geneticist, he can help her do the DNA testing of men she suspects might be the one.

Don helps Rosie collect and analyze DNA samples. He also finds himself drawn closer to Rosie, and changing in ways he never thought possible.

All of this is told from Don’s point of view. He misinterprets EVERYTHING he comes in contact with, but it’s always clear to us what’s really going on. The result is very funny. The adventures of Don and Rosie grow more and more outrageous and involved. And Don grows also, affecting everyone around him.

This is a sweet, fun book.

Highly recommended.