The Rosie Project

It's a charming love story, pure confection.

Don Tillman is a genetics professor with Asperger's. His life is ordered and finely tuned to his sensibilities. He's the narrator of our tale here, and while I can object to this being an easy excuse to adopt a flat, matter of fact tone, Tillman is nonetheless endearing. Part Data, part Sheldon Cooper.

Don decides to embark in earnest on acquiring a life partner and thus devises “The Wife Project”, a thick questionnaire to weed out incompatibilities in potential mates when in walks Rosie Jarman, the world's most incompatible woman.

I can't even write a review of the story that doesn't have me hating it, or at least discarding it with a yawning dismissal. You know what's going to happen. You know the tropes that will be visited. How clearly the arc will unfold with it's minor crises and major revelations. So it's no mean feat that Graeme Simsion managed to keep me turning the pages and not hating myself after finishing the book. It's a fun, light read that I only feel a little guilty recommending. If you can't bring yourself to enjoy this bit of fluff you can always wait for the inevitable movie this is so ripe to be made into.

Challenge: Read a book set somewhere you always wanted to visit

I really liked the beginning of this book. I laughed a lot with Don's comments and observations and I thought it was quite interesting to read a romantic story from the man's point of view.

That being said, I had to force myself to finish it. By the time Rosie was introduced and her whole story arc was presented with the Father Project, I had lost my interest. None of the jokes seemed funny to me anymore, half of the characters annoyed me SO MUCH and the situations they got themselves into seemed silly to say the least.

Chick lit and romantic novels are always quite impossible to believe but I just could not see how this pair could actually fall in love. They had NOTHING in common; their personalities just didn't match, so much so that Don had to change his entire behavior in order for Rosie to end up with him. I think that was my biggest issue with it. The author went to great lengths to make the reader like Don and sympathize with him, just to make him change most of himself and force him to fit in.

After the first pages, I expected a lot but my expectations were not met.

Buku adult contemporary yg berbeda dgn yg pernah kubaca sebelumnya.
Di awal2 si tokoh utama Prof Don Tillman diceritakan memberi seminar ttg Asperger Syndrome. Aku mengetahui mengenai Asperger dari serial Parenthood, kemudian dari film My Name Is Khan. Nah mmg gk ada penjabaran kalo si Don ini punya Asperger krn POV nya dia sbg org pertama, namun kalo melihat dari aktivitas & keseharian dia, juga mengenai karakter & perilaku, si Don ini punya Asperger.
Isinya sbnrnya lucu menurutku krn Don dgn Aspergernya dianggap sbg org aneh oleh org lain, namun dia sdr menganggap org lain yg aneh. Dia membuat kuisioner untuk proyek istri, yaitu mencari wanita yg cocok menjadi istrinya. Namun sejak ketemu Rosie yg sangat gk sesuai untuk menjadi istri menurut Don malah membuat Don melakukan hal2 diluat rutinitasnya. Disinilah kelucuan2 muncul.

Naturally, the books and research papers described the symptoms of Asperger's syndrome, and I formed a provisional conclusion that most of these were simply variations in human brain function that had been inappropriately medicalized because they did not fit social norms - constructed social norms - that reflected the most common human configurations rather than the full range.

I was hooked after I read this... Don is researching Asperger's and comes to the above conclusion. YES!! I am a wholehearted believer that Asperger's and autism are extremely over-diagnosed simply because a child is different and not considered the social norm... I believe their difference should be celebrated.

Ok.. back to the book.

The Rosie Project is about Don Tillman, professor of genetics at a prestigious university, who is very socially awkward but still actually very charismatic. He starts the Wife Project, and in the middle happens to meet Rosie who breaks every rule he has for his “suitable mate”. Rosie teaches him to give up some of his OCD-ness and learn how to have fun. This story about their adventures is pretty stinking hilarious and just cute.

I read some reviews that said the main character reminded them of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. It's true... in the greatest way possible. I also read some reviews that harped on the fact that the book is full of stereotypes, but I felt that it really aimed at breaking the stereotypes that people believe about Asperger's. They're just people too.

If you like quirky books and have a slightly nerdy side, or if you just like sweet love stories, then this book is for you. The only negative thing I have to say about the book is that the ending was a little emotionally lacking. I wish it had been expanded on and a tad more emotional - but then again, he does have “Asperger's” and it still wrapped everything up nicely, so I can't complain.

Plus, there's going to be a SEQUEL!!!! I'm sure it will complete the story and hopefully add some emotion to the current ending. I'm going to be waiting on the edge of my seat.

1/21/2014: In hindsight, I realize I really loved this book because I think about it all the time, and I freak out and start raving when someone tells me they're thinking about reading it... Therefore, I bumped my rating up to 5 stars!!

Sidenote: I just found out that Graeme Simsion is also a playwright, which makes complete sense. The Rosie Project would make a great play, if you ask me.

After looking at the cover of this book for several years and assuming for some reason (?) it was about a child, this book took me completely by surprise. Although he did remind me at times of Sheldon from The Big Bang theory, the protagonist is a character unlike any other. His quest for self understanding, and his struggle to reconcile rationality with emotion, was at times hilarious, always interesting, and consistently well written. I loved this book and have already begun the sequel!