ARC - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 3 days

Blurb from the back cover

Rosie looked at me and said, 'You know if you changed your glasses and haircut, you could be Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird.' 'Is that good?' I assumed, given the circumstances, that it was, but wanted to hear her confirm it. 'He was only the sexiest man that ever lived.'

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. Then a chance encounter gives him an idea. He will design a questionnaire - a sixteen-page, scientifically researched document - to find the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker or a late-arriver.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is strangely beguiling, fiery and intelligent. And she is also on a quest of her own. She's looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might just be able to help her with - even if he does wear quick-dry clothes and eat lobster every single Tuesday night.

My Review

I must be honest, this is not a book I would have picked up and chosen to read for myself. If came to me via RealReaders and I try and get to these books quickly which is why it jumped the review queue. Don tells the story in first person narrative, the book doesn't mention it outright although it soon becomes apparent he has some form of Aspergers. Don is the main character trying to find his ideal partner. It is no easy task so he sets out developing a questionnaire to weed out the undesirables. Whilst sorting his project he meets a woman who is the opposite of everything he is looking for. The more time he spends with her the more information he has to better analyze and tweak his survey. He agrees to help Rosie with finding her father, which creates a new project, whilst learning from her along the way. A very unlikely friendship forms taking them on a journey which will change them both, forever.

I loved this book! I know and have seen that some people don't and have found many faults with it but I thought it was great. I am currently loving the big bang theory, Sheldon Cooper especially and found myself relating Don and his behaviors to him, albeit an older version. Don is super smart but lives, loves and breaths routine. When someone new comes into the story he assesses them notably on age and BMI. He processes everything almost computer like, he eats the same foods routinely and his interactions with people at times are hilarious.

The book takes you on a growth journey, for both characters and you can see Don's progress more so as he struggles to process what is deemed appropriate and normal behaviors. I loved his mind, how it worked and comprehended different situations and problems. I cringed through a few of the scenarios he found himself in and laughed out loud at one or two. If you take the book for what it is I think you will really enjoy it, totally what I needed when my head has been busted with studying. Thank you so much to RealReaders for sending me this and introducing me to a new author, I hope Graeme Simsion has more tales of Don in the making. I would definitely read this author again, 5/5 for me. This book is available for purchase, from all good retailers, from the 11th of April 2013.

View all my reviews