Introduction: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
When Bill Gates talks, the media listens. A few years ago, Gates recommended The Rosie Project. His wife suggested that he read the book and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Before Bill Gates started talking about the book, a manager from Indigo Books and Music recommended The Rosie Project: A Novel
by Graeme Simsion and I am sure glad she did.
What is The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion About?
Set in Melbourne, Australia, the book is hysterically funny and the perfect summer read. The story has an excellent start,
“I may have found a solution to the Wife Problem. As with so many scientific breakthroughs, the answer was obvious in retrospect. But had it not been for a series of unscheduled events, it is unlikely I would have discovered it.”
The main character, Don Tillman, is a brilliant geneticist, but socially awkward. There is this innocence about him, and he is honest, blurting out what’s on his mind, without using the proper filters that normal people use. It’s no surprise that he has never had a second date.
As a scientist, he decides to apply research techniques to finding a wife, and develops an extensive questionnaire – 16 pages – for his Wife Project. Tillman wants to find the perfect wife. He shows the questionnaire to his close friends, husband and wife, Gene and Claudia.
Gene is s professor of psychology and Claudia is a clinical psychologist. The two have an open marriage, but the only one who is using that “privilege” is Gene, who is a Casanova, whose intent is to have sex with women of as many different nationalities as possible. Gene and Claudia review Don’s questionnaire and make suggestions. Don distributes his questionnaire, and Gene offers to review the responses for him.
Meanwhile, Don meets Rosie Jarman. Don is under the impression that Gene recommended Rosie to be a part of his Wife Project. The two are like day and night, and there isn’t any way they will likely ever get together. To function effectively, Don needs a lot of structure and routines. For instance, for each day of the week, he prepares a specific meal, and the vendors are so accustomed to his routine that they usually have what he needs when he goes to the market. He also schedules everything, and it is difficult for him to function when things go awry. On the other hand, Rosie is very spontaneous.
Rosie wants to find her real dad, and she is relying on the information from her mother who died in a car crash when she was 10 years old. Rosie is now close to 30 years old. Her mother was a medical doctor, and based on the information she remembers, her mother got pregnant the night of the graduation party.
As a geneticist, Don is prepared to assist her and places his Wife Project on hold, while he works on the Father Project. The 30 year reunion is coming up shortly, so Rosie and Don apply to work as bartenders at the event. Rosie works at a bar, so she knows how to make drinks. She lends Don a book on bartending, and in his typical manner, he takes it very seriously and practices so that he can make drinks to perfection.
As The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion unfolds, you see Don evolving into a more normal person, who is having more fun in his life. Although, Rosie is not supposed to qualify as a life partner, according to the Wife Project, he enjoys her company. It’s funny the lengths these two will go to, to acquire DNA samples to test. With money left to Don from an elderly neighbor, the two travel to New York City to get the final DNA samples. It turns out that Rosie’s real father was under her nose all along.
Final Thoughts: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is not a romance novel, although the two main characters get together in the end. It’s a story about taking chances and changing for the better. It is about putting another person’s needs ahead of your own. It’s about speaking up when you need to, and it’s about accepting the opportunities that come your way.
I recommend The Rosie Project: A Novel by Graeme Simsion because it’s a book that most people will enjoy, and it’s also the perfect summer read. Have you read The Rosie Project? Please add your comments in the box below.
The Rosie Project: A Novel
The Rosie Effect: A Novel
Other Books by Graeme Simsion
Data Modeling Essentials, Third Edition
Data Modeling Theory and Practice
Database Design: Know It All
(he is a co-author among many)
