Book Review: The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

Graeme C. Simsion is a New Zealand-born Australian author, screen-writer, a playwright, and data modeller. He recently won the 2012 Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award for his book, The Rosie Project.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It was extremely amusing and clever.  If you a fan of  TV shows like “The Big Bang Theory” you’ll most likely enjoy this novel.   Don, the protagonist, is wonderful portrayal of someone with Asperger’s.   He is a brilliant scientist, but hapless at social interaction embodying the essence of an “Aspie” who is utterly unaware of his tendencies.  Determined to find a wife, Don constructs a 16 page questionnaire to avoid actually dating.  “The Wife Project” is derailed when Rosie Jarman walks in with her “Father Project”.  As Don narrates the book in first person, the reader gets to share in his challenges of learning to live in an ordinary world, where he must navigate many situations that unsettle his scientifically calculated approach to daily existence.  Don has several talks/debates with himself about changing his plans/schedule as Rosie infiltrates his life. According to his questionnaire, Rosie is not a successful candidate for the “Wife Project” yet he is intrigued and a friendship forms. This novel is a wonderful evocation of two very different people developing a relationship and how they accommodate each other’s uniqueness.  “The Rosie Project” is about recognizing yourself, and valuing who you are, while also recognizing your capability to change when necessary.

This review was written by Naomi Vancaillie, community librarian for the Peachland Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library