The charmingly funny atypical protagonist, Don Tillman, is a genetics professor. He has a project: to get married. His problem is a universal one; he cannot find a compatible partner. His difficulty is exacerbated through his social awkwardness resultant of being somewhere on the autism spectrum. His solution is less than conventional, but entirely logical.
He devises a scientific project consisting of:
'[A 16 page questionnaire,]such an obvious solution [to finding a life partner.] A purpose-built, scientifically valid instrument incorporating current best practice to filter out the time wasters, the disorganised, the ice-cream discriminators, the visual-harassment complainers, the crystal gazers, the horoscope readers, the fashion obsessives, the religious fanatics, the vegans, the sports watchers, the creationists, the smokers, the scientifically illiterate, the homeopaths, leaving ideally the perfect partner, or, realistically, a manageable short-list of candidates.'
Rosie, however, is all of these. She is patently unsuitable and is naturally disregarded. Nevertheless a relationship ensues, for the reason that Don can aid her in her own project to find her biological father, through his access to, and capability of, DNA testing. Rosie begins as a disturbance to Don's regimented lifestyle before utterly dismantling the entirety of his timetabled life.
We experience the all too familiar frustrations in the quest for love: the disaster dates and awkward circumstances, but surely none of us have eclipsed Don in practicing sex positions with the help of a manual, using a skeleton, in his office, as the dean walks in. The effect of these incidents is nothing short of irrepressible amusement.
Rarely is there a novel with such an abundance of likeable characters. Graeme Simsion manages to create an endearing character without being patronising. He handles the humour perfectly; we can laugh at and with our hero, Don, who although on the Asperger's spectrum isn’t depicted problematically causing any controversial or awkward moments. Instead we are left questioning and challenging our pre or misconceptions. In fact, the novel is incredibly positive in many of its aspects. As Don identifies, ‘Asperger's isn't a fault. It's a variant. It's potentially a major advantage.’
Passionate, spontaneous, and outspoken Rosie is the perfect antidote for Don's regimented and clinical lifestyle. His journey begins with his emotional disfunction and ends in the acceptance of illogical love, that begins as such a perplexing concept to him. It seems that chemistry prevails over the checklist attitude, a list of required characteristics that would make for the perfect partner, a device that many of us subconsciously employ.
The Rosie Project is an impressive debut from Graeme Simsion.
A light, easy and swift read despite handling a serious and thought-provoking topic. Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, heart-warming, and ideal for a long train journey, holiday, or a break from revision.
‘Imagine the literary equivalent of one of those lamps prescribed for sufferers of seasonal affective disorder—a book that found the crack in our seemingly interminable winter to let laughter and light flood in.’
Sunday Times UK
