What We Thought: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project
by Graeme Simsion

Don Tillman’s goal is to find a wife. He says, “There is something about me that women find unappealing. I have never found it easy to make friends, and it seems that the deficiencies that caused this problem have also affected my attempts at romantic relationships.”

"All of us have to make some accommodations and allowances if we are to live with another person.”  -- The Rosie Project

Book Club members were in agreement that The Rosie Project was very entertaining and a great read. Comments about the quirky character traits of Don and his “friend” Rosie Jarman were generally well received. There were some outrageous scenes in the course of the story but all in all the characters were portrayed realistically. After Don made accommodations in his professional and daily life, he set his sights on improving his social life. Although he made the search for a wife more complicated than was necessary, he met his match in Rosie, who was not looking for a mate and who at first struck Don as highly unsuitable. Their adventures together changed their feelings for each other. They had so much fun together that their story evolved into a romantic comedy, surprising both of them!

Don’s best friends, his fellow genetics professor Gene and his wife Claudia, a psychologist, formed the major part of Don’s social life before Rosie enters the picture. Gene mentored Don about his search for a wife even though he was a poor role model of domestic bliss. Gene’s goal to sleep with a woman from every country challenges the tolerance of his wife. Don may not be the only person who has character flaws interfering with his social life.

Some of Don’s traits worked to his advantage, he had a terrific memory and a determination to use it beyond what ordinary people could have imagined. He memorized an entire book of alcoholic drinks and mixed them so well at a fancy party that he impressed the owner of the club who offered him a job on the spot. His proficiency in DNA collection and testing demonstrated his empathy for Rosie in her successful search for her biological father.

There was some discussion about Don having some traits of Asperger’s syndrome. Some said that he reminded them of the character Sheldon in the TV comedy The Big Bang Theory, and that the same actor would be a great choice to play Don Tillman in the movie version of The Rosie Project. The celebrity who came to mind to play Rosie was Cyndi Lauper in her younger days.

Book club members are looking forward to the next book about Don and Rosie married and living in New York City. The Rosie Effect is scheduled for release in December of this year.

Have you read The Rosie Project? Share your thoughts with the Evening Readers Book Club in the comments!

If you haven't read it yet, check out the opening of the book here.

This Month's Selection: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison

Evening Readers Book Club

The Rosie Project
by Graeme Simsion

Tuesday, July 22
6:30 p.m.

From the publisher:

The art of love is never a science.

Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She also is strangely beguiling, fiery, and intelligent. And while Don quickly disqualifies her as a candidate for the Wife Project, as a DNA expert Don is particularly suited to help Rosie on her own quest: identifying her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on the Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

Arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, Graeme Simsion’s distinctive debut will resonate with anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of great challenges. The Rosie Project is a rare find: a book that restores our optimism in the power of human connection.

Have you read The Rosie Project? Share your thoughts in the comments on this post anytime, or on the discussion post after July 22!