Looking for a quirky, fun romance with unique likeable
characters? Your hunt is over. The Rosie Project is the story of Don
Tillman. Don knows he is wired
differently than everyone else, and lives a very organized life as a professor
in Australia. He decides to enter the
dating scene and starts a “wife project” complete with an extensive questionnaire. He cannot find the “perfect” woman, but hopes
his friend Gene can help out. Gene sends
over Rosie for a candidate and Don’s life is changed forever. Will Don be able to find love? Will he be able to change his routine? Is he capable of feeling love?
I really liked how unique Don was and that novel was
told from his point of view. I like that
he knows that he is “wired differently” than most people, but doesn’t seem to
realize that he probably has Asperger’s like the many children in a seminar
that he teaches once for his friend Gene.
Don has a hard time emphasizing with people, but he can make
connections. I loved the sweet story of
his dinners with his elderly neighbor Daphne and how his trips continued to see
her when she moved on to a nursing home with Alzheimer’s. He has a hard time seeing beyond his routine
and I love how the adventures he has with Rosie break him out of the routine
and make him realize there could be fun doing different things. I also like that Rosie realizes she can have
fun with Don doing items in his routine.
This was a fun, quick story that made me laugh a
lot. I loved Don’s “voice” and how he
uses logic to try to solve all problems.
As an engineer, I felt like I’ve met a lot of Dons. I read that it has
been optioned as a movie and I really hope it is made into a romantic
comedy. There has really been a dearth
of good romantic comedies lately. The
story was told from Don’s point of few, I wish we could have gotten more of
Rosie’s point of view in the story. Don
is not always the most perceptive when it comes to lady’s feelings so sometimes
I was wondering how exactly she felt.
This book was a Kewaunee Library Book Club selection
for the month of February and is a great read for the month of Valentine’s
Day. I sadly will miss the meeting next
week to discuss this book due to work.
Favorite Quotes:
“Gene and Claudia tried for a while to assist me with
the Wife Problem. Unfortunately, their
approach was based on the traditional dating paradigm, which I had previously
abandoned on the basis that the probability of success did not justify the effort
and negative experiences. I am
thirty-nine years old, tall, fit and intelligent, with a relatively high status
and above-average income as an associate professor. Logically, I should be attractive to a wide
range of women. In the animal kingdom, I
would succeed in reproducing. However,
there is something about me that women find unappealing.”
“At 2:50 a.m. I was riding through the inner
suburbs. It was not a totally unpleasant
experience. In fact, I could see major
advantages for myself in working at night.
Empty laboratories. Not
students. Faster response times on the
network. No contact with the Dean. If I could find a pure research position,
with no teaching, it would be entirely feasible.”
“In the last eight weeks I had experienced two of the
three best times of my adult life, assuming all visits to the Museum of natural
History were treated as one event. They
had both been with Rosie. Was there a
correlation? It was critical to find
out.”
Overall, this was a fun, exceptional book with one of
my favorite new literary characters – Don Tillman. I will be recommending this book to others!
Book Source:
The Kewaunee Public Library
Thank you for the review. Sounds quirky definitely.In a good way.
ReplyDeleteThank-you! It is a quirky in a good way - it's fun to read something different!!
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