The Rosie Effect- Graeme Simsion

The Blurb

The Rosie Effect is the charming and hilarious sequel to Graeme Simsion's bestselling debut novel The Rosie Project.

Until a year ago, forty-one-year-old geneticist Don Tillman had never had a second date. Until he met Rosie, 'the world's most incompatible woman'. Now, living in New York City, they have survived ten months and ten days of marriage.

But though Rosie has taught him the joys of unscheduled sex and spontaneous meal planning, life is still not plain sailing for Don. Not least with the sudden arrival of his best friend Gene, serial philanderer, who takes up residence on their sofa.

Then Rosie drops the mother of all bombshells. And soon Don must face her hormonally induced irrational behaviour as he prepares for the biggest challenge of his previously ordered life - at the same time as dodging deportation, prosecution and professional disgrace.

Is Don Tillman ready to become the man he always dreamed of being? Or will he revert to his old ways and risk losing Rosie forever?

The Review

There are some books in life which are just special.  They manage to reach out and touch people, perhaps even changing opinions along the way.  The Rosie Project did just that (see my review here ).  It is one of my absolutely favourites, a stunning debut which first introduced us to the unlikely pairing of Don and Rosie. 

The Rosie Effect carries on their love story, and like any other married couple out there, there are bumps in the road.  Impending parenthood is difficult for Don to comprehend and the book largely focuses around his efforts to learn the necessary skills to be a father.  He does this in typically Don like ways which causes chaos and leads to a deceptive nine months for both himself and Rosie.

I probably enjoyed this even more than The Rosie Project, in part because I was rooting so much for things to work out well between this unconventional, sometimes extremely irritating couple.  I love Don and Rosie, I really do, but their outlooks on life made me want to bang their heads together and say 'LOVE IS ENOUGH!!!  JUST DO YOUR BEST ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD!' But of course that would never do for either of them, what with Don requiring straightforward explanations and Rosie convinced that her way is the right way.

One of the best things about The Rosie Effect was learning more about Gene, Don's player of a best friend.  His infidelity made me dislike him immensely during the first book (although I thought as a character he was fabulous) but I warmed to him so much more this time around. 

Graeme Simsion is an absolute marvel when it comes to creating warm characters that readers will care about. They are flawed, every single one of them, but they still have charm, beauty, redeeming features. 

I can honestly say I want to read everything Graeme has ever written.  Shopping lists, exam papers- I don't care.  He manages to put a thought provoking spin on everything he writes and as a reader I find that both challenging and engaging. 

I NEED to know what happens next.  And fast. 

No pressure, Mr Simsion, no pressure...

The Rosie Project- Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project- Graeme Simsion

The Blurb
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a story about love, life and lobsters...

Meet Don Tillman.
Don is getting married.
He just doesn't know who to yet.
But he has designed a very detailed questionnaire to help him find the perfect woman.
One thing he already knows, though, is that it's not Rosie.
Absolutely, completely, definitely not.

Telling the story of Rosie and Don, Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project is an international phenomenon, sold in over thirty countries - and counting.

Don Tillman is a socially challenged genetics professor who's decided the time has come to find a wife. His questionnaire is intended to weed out anyone who's unsuitable. The trouble is, Don has rather high standards and doesn't really do flexible so, despite lots of takers - he looks like Gregory Peck - he's not having much success in identifying The One.

When Rosie Jarman comes to his office, Don assumes it's to apply for the Wife Project - and duly discounts her on the grounds she smokes, drinks, doesn't eat meat, and is incapable of punctuality. However, Rosie has no interest in becoming Mrs Tillman and is actually there to enlist Don's assistance in a professional capacity: to help her find her biological father.
Sometimes, though, you don't find love: love finds you...

The Review
This was actually a reread, but I originally read it before I started my blog.  And I've got to say I am so glad I reread it.  It was even better the second time around, maybe because I understood the dynamics between the characters so much more. 

This really is a heavily character driven book.  Don, a professor with Aspergers, is incredibly likeable, particularly because his thought process is so straightforward. There are people around him, the Dean at the University for example, who don't understand his behaviours, but essentially Don is a good guy, looking for love in the methodical, scientific way which seems natural to him.  Rosie is strong, quirky, clever- but she is complicated and her sometimes guarded nature confuses Don.  Other characters (particular mention for Don's friend Gene) are also well crafted by Simsion and this is one of the major strengths of the book.

That isn't to say there is no plot, because there is.  Don looking for love via a questionnaire and helping Rosie find her biological father is strangely engaging.  When I was first given this book I really didn't think it would be something I'd enjoy, but it has become one of the books I recommend to anyone who wants to read something they perhaps might have missed.

The Rosie Effect is out this week (which is what prompted the reread) and I cannot wait.  These characters deserve a long running series, not just a sequel.  I want to know more about Don and Rosie, because I fell in love with them.  I defy you not to fall in love with them too.