Discover the delightfully heartwarming and life-affirming bestseller about one man's unlikely journey through love, perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
THE INTERNATIONAL MILLION COPY BESTSELLER
'I couldn't put this book down. It's one of the most quirky and endearing romances I've ever read. I laughed the whole way through' SOPHIE KINSELLA
'Brilliant, important, good-hearted' GUARDIAN
'Original, clever and perfectly written' JILL MANSELL
'Superb. Endearing, charming and fascinating' THE TIMES
'Funny, charming and heart-warming. A gem of a novel' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'Adorable' MARIAN KEYES
________
Love isn't an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman.
A thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don's never had a second date. So he devises the Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner.
Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos.
But what is this unsettling, alien emotion he's feeling? . . .
If you loved The Rosie Project, find out what happens next in The Rosie Effect and The Rosie Result!
________
'All three of the Rosie novels made me laugh out loud. Ultimately the story is about getting inside the mind and heart of someone a lot of people see as odd, and discovering that he isn't really that different from anybody else' BILL GATES
'Exuberantly life-affirming' SUNDAY TIMES
'A completely charming story that is as engaging as it is funny' INDEPENDENT
'Compulsively readable. A poignant universal story' OBSERVER
'Such a joy to read - I honestly can't think of many books that I've enjoyed more. The definition of a comfort book. It made me laugh out loud more than any book before' MARIE CLARE
'Full of quirky humour and touching tenderness. Imagine the love child of Eleanor Oliphant ad Bridget Jones and you have this book' CULTUREFLY
'Marvellous' JOHN BOYNE
'Charming and hilarious' LUXE
'Hilarious, unlikely and heartbreaking' EASY LIVING
Join the thousands of readers who have fallen in love with Don and Rosie . . .
'Touching and funny. There was not a page I turned where I was not rooting for the characters or smiling' 5* Reader Review
'Warm, wonderful and laugh out loud funny. Stays with you long after you have finished' 5* Reader Review
'Wonderful, touching, funny, very romantic. Glorious' 5* Reader Review
'Funny, poignant and original. The best romantic comedy I've read since Bridget Jones' 5* Reader Review
'Utterly, utterly brilliant! Captured my heart' 5* Reader Review
'A truly wonderful, warm-hearted story. Read it, you won't regret it!' 5* Reader Review
'If I could have given this book 6 stars, I would. Brilliant' 5* Reader Review
- ISBN10 1405912790
- ISBN13 9781405912792
- Publish Date 2 January 2014 (first published 30 January 2013)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 352
- Language English
Reviews
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
1. Don Tillman is an excellent character. His narrative voice is engaging, detailed, and keeps the pacing comfortable.
2. I surprised myself by being on again, off again about Rosie. Sometimes I like her, sometimes I didn't. That made her a highly engaging character, because I wasn't sure if I wanted them to be in love, to be friends, or to be far away from one another.
3. While this is clearly categorized everywhere as a "fun, romantic read," I found the analysis of Don to be the most engaging aspect of the story. At no point in this book was I certain of the outcome, even as a "romance". That was nice.
4. While it's never specifically stated in the book, it's widely accepted that Don has Asperger's Syndrome. I did a little research on this topic and found an article saying that Simison didn't actually do much research on this topic - Don is based off people he has encountered in information technology. Despite the lack of in-depth technical research, Don seems like a good character. I don't have Asperger's myself and therefore have no real right to judge... but the community opinion of Don's representation seems widely positive as well.
5. I just really liked Claudia's character. And I wanted to punch Gene. Or at least smack him upside the head, the self prick.
I don't really have a lot to say about this book other than I really enjoyed it, and that I liked the characters. It was quick, and fun... as advertised. It's a bit out of my normal range as well, so that was a nice change! After The Cider House Rules, The Rosie Project hit the spot. I'll definitely read the sequel.
This book is perfect if you just want a nice story for a change. Something without excessive drama. Something light and interesting, that you can real over a weekend or on the beach. It's simply wonderful.
wcs53
Although this book is often described as chick-lit, don't be put off by that if it's not normally your thing. This is a fun read, has a decent story and I look forward to finding (and reading) its sequel, 'The Rosie Effect'.
jamiereadthis
It’s not that I think guys can’t write romance,* it’s just that this book felt weird to me. And not weird in the way it was supposed to be weird. In short, I liked it enough to finish it, but not enough that I’d read it again. There you go.
*I contend Lou Berney’s Shake series is one of the best romances I’ve read.
ellieroth
Sam@WLABB
Bianca
If you really love someone, you have to be prepared to accept them as they are. Maybe you hope that one day they get a wake-up call and make the changes for their own reasons.
nitzan_schwarz
Originally posted on my blog.
Okay, the Rosie Project was high on my TBR pile for a while - and I finally got my hands on a copy and dived in!!
I'm going to start with my few (and minor) complaints.
At first, I had a very hard time grasping how the characters look and appear. They've changed themselves in my mind a few times during the course of the first 100 pages because of crucial information about them that was withheld at first. For example; Gene. He is over fifty, but we don't get that info until 60 pages or so in. Suddenly, my whole image for Gene had to shift. It was hard to get a fix.
And... that's it.
Yep, that's the entire of my complaints about this book!! The rest are just great things.
The main character, Don, is just so adorable, sweet, and relate-able - despite the fact he has some syndrome (possibly Asperger's). Because we're inside his head, everything makes sense. Aside for us, the "normal" people. We're terribly irrational, aren't we?... Even though he claims not to feel love/emotions, he shows a lot of these (between the lines) throughout this book and I loved it! I also adored the small change in him. Who he is did not change, but he learned to be more in tune with what other people are feelings, and that - same as everyone else on the planet - he can "fake" fitting in.
Rosie is not necessarily my favorite character in the book, nor is she in the top 10. I loved that she forced Don out of his comfort zone and expended said zone. I loved what she brought in him. But she herself, with all her "daddy issues" and the way she "rebelled", was not someone I particularity liked. I mean, I didn't hate her or anything similar, not at all, but...
The rest of the cast were pretty awesome. I loved the Gene plot-line, and I liked how eventually Gene realized - thanks to Don!! - that what he was doing was wrong. I loved Claudia and how she was such a place for support. I loved the Dean (even though we didn't see much of her), and the cast of daddy candidates.
In short: I really really loved this book! It was the first book in a long time I basically read in one sitting, and felt compelled to read once I got it. I'm really looking forward to the sequel - though I have no idea what it might be about.
Another cool aspect is that there is a twitter account for Don, the MC here, and he answers and interacts with readers talking about the Rosie Project as Don! Dunno if its something supported by the author (or if it is the author, but still cool 'cause it sounds like the character actually talks with you, which is awesome the the extreme). I checked in my copy of the book, and there isn't a real Don.
elvinagb
Michael @ Knowledge Lost
Chick lit always seems to have a quirky woman looking for love, because apparently the message is that strong independent women are incomplete until they have a partner. That is probably a rant for another day but I have to wonder why Nick Hornsby and Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project does not fit into this genre? All the same characteristics are there, the only thing different is the role reversal. My wife jokingly calls the genre dick lit but I don’t know why there is a gender bias in a genre. I thought Seating Arrangements would be considered chick lit but because it had a male protagonist people dismiss it as something different. Not really important but I thought it odd that just because the main character is the wrong gender it doesn’t fall under the same category, which is one of the many problems with trying to categorise books into genres.
Now let’s get back to The Rosie Project; this was an entertaining and quick read that just has too many problems with it. This over hyped book’s major flaw is the portrayal of Asperger’s; much like Addition, a mental health issue (or in this case a pervasive developmental disorder) is the quirky personality. Because underplaying a mental health issue is the answer to making a character quirky; why can’t people just be quirky without having to point fingers? Misrepresenting mental health seems to be the go to move for writers of books, TV and movies and it really isn’t helping people understand these issues. Also while I’m on the topic, why does socially awkward, introverted or quirky have to be considered as problems, why can’t we just be happy for people to be different without having to stick a label on it?
The other major issue I had with The Rosie Project was its predictability; you knew exactly what was going to happen from chapter to chapter and how the book would end. There were no surprises, nothing interesting, just a generic plot. So we have an unpredictable, generic and stereotypical plot; does that leave you with any good points? Not really, just that it was entertaining and there was some decent comedy but in the end I was glad to be done with the book. Remember that old Jack Nicholson movie As Good As It Gets? I have to wonder if this is just a modernisation of that movie, there were so many similarities. I also found a lot of similarities to Addition so I’m not sure if there is anything original left in this book.
For those that don’t mind something so formulaic and predictable, this book is entertaining and you don’t really need to pay attention. I ended up skim reading most of this book and I still felt like I didn’t miss anything, because I guessed what would happen before I read it. I know this book has gotten a lot of buzz lately and I’m still that bitter and cynical old man but I really don’t get it; I don’t see what was so appealing.
Good on Graeme Simsion for taking the world by storm with this novel, the buzz in Australia has started to die down but now the hype is starting around the world. I see it was one of the books been heavily advertised at BEA from Australia (the other being Burial Rites). For that I’m glad it’s doing well, it is nice to see Australian books getting talked about all around the world. Much like The Book Thief, I don’t see why there is so much buzz but I’m still happy when an Australian author reaches the international stage. I’m sure there will be a romantic comedy coming from Hollywood soon, so maybe that is a good reason to read The Rosie Project.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/06/11/book-review-the-rosie-project/