The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion
Simon & Schuster,
Jun 3 2014, $15.99
ISBN: 9781476729091
Genetics Professor Don Tillman knows that that having Asperger’s
syndrome causes him to think differently than the neurotypical masses;
especially most of the duds in his classes who prefer astrology over DNA. He also thinks his genetic variant provides
him with advantages but also leaves him without a woman in his life; as he
never gets a second date.
Turning forty, Don applies his need for nano detail and his
superior organization and focus skills to create the Wife Project. His questionnaire is designed to eliminate
those unacceptable due to an annoying trait like smoking or the wrong ice cream. When Don and Rosie Jarman the
bartender-student meet; his reaction to her is that she is pretty but way too
fiery and chaotic for an Aspie like him who bone marrow deep needs repetitive
order. Rosie pleads with the professor
to help her learn who her biological father is.
As the Aspie and the NT work the Father Project, he revises the Wife
Project into The Rosie Project.
This is a terrific look at how wide the human tent can be with the
acceptance of neurodiversity
of people wired differently; as Dashiell
Hamett says in The Thin Man: “The problem with putting two and two together is
that sometimes you get four, and sometimes you get twenty-two.” Having raised an
Aspie son, I believe Graeme Simsion captures the essence of those with the
syndrome who can drive you insane and leave you laughing in nanoseconds, but
especially as they become a teen and an adult the desperate need for a
significant other. Although readers know
what will happen, the journey from the mind to the heart is superb.
Harriet Klausner
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