Anyone who knows me will be well aware of my love of books
and the fact that I am a prolific reader. However, despite this, I have never
written a book review. Well, maybe at school but not out of choice. I think I
am always moving on so fast to the next book that I don’t get round to
reviewing the last one. In a way I am a chain reader, I do not feel comfortable
if I don’t have a book which I am currently reading. Anyway, I have decided to
do a book review and see how it goes.
I have
recently read a fantastic book called The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison. I
don’t often go for the romantic comedy genre but I am glad I did this time.
It is a fabulously funny, thought provoking and
interesting look at a socially inept man who is trying to find a wife. His OCD/Aspergers/Autistic type symptoms are easily identifiable from the beginning and the fact that
the character, Don, is a scientist makes his life all the more ordered. You
cannot help but like this character from the start and anyone who is a fan of
Big Bang Theory will love his Sheldon type qualities. As with the Sheldon
character, his OCD type characteristics make him more appealing as a character.
The fact that he is totally unaware socially but is highly intelligent shows a
kind of person who centres their life on what is important to them rather than
what is important to other people.
The idea
that Don Tillman is looking for a wife using a scientifically based questionnaire,
based on rather specific criteria, comes across as a nerdy, scientific thing,
but could just be seen as a more rigid, personalised version of dating
agencies. The only difference is that
Don is asking questions which are important to him rather than generalised
questions. He knows what he wants and asks for it.
This highly
intelligent geneticist has, however, totally forgotten to factor in the human
factor. When he meets Rosie he does not really consider her as candidate for
The Wife Project (his project for finding a wife) as she is so different from what he thinks he needs. Spending
time with her is much nicer than he imagined it would be and we, the reader can
see the attraction early on. Slight changes in his very rigid routine are the
first sign that he has feelings for Rosie. The Father Project (A project Don is working on, for Rosie) seemed to be Don’s way of
maintaining some kind of relationship with Rosie as well as, presumably,
interesting his scientific side. The deeper they go into the Father Project,
the more Don’s strict routine gets disrupted and he does not seem to be overly
bothered. At first he starts to compensate and then just appears to let a few
things go so that he can do the many things that the Father Project requires. It is fantastic to see the character grow and come out of his shell and improve himself as he embarks on this adventure.
His
friendship with Gene and Claudia shows that, despite his lack of social skills,
Don can have close friends. He does verge on being over familiar with them: for
example, walking into the bedroom to borrow one of Gene’s shirts instead of
asking, but I like the friendship between them. His experience with friends is
mainly down to an interesting association with Daphne, an old lady he takes
under his wing. He shows a remarkable tender side making a huge effort to
provide her with extra "birthdays" as her Alzheimer’s set in.
As well as
the fascinating character of Don Tillman, the book also has many other
interesting people in it. Rosie, of course, is a complex woman with her own
ideas who falls for the slightly quirky geneticist and his strange ways. Gene
and Claudia have their own small world in the book mainly revolving around
their open relationship and connections with Don. Dave, Phil and the Dean of the university all
play a part as do various other characters.
I am not
going to give any more of the plot away as I think this is well worth the read
and would be suitable for men or women. I do identify in part with the ordered
and particular way Don does things and I do rather like the premise that anyone
can find love. As this book is a few years old there is already a follow up,
The Rosie Effect........ I have to read this!
