The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Don Tillman is a genetics professor at an unnamed university in Australia. Some people say he is brilliant. He may be but he is horribly, laughably socially inept. He decides it's time to find a wife.

Don has had some relationships with women: his mother, his sister, an elderly woman he met, so he is not entirely unaware of  females. He designs the "Wife Project" to facilitate his search. He doesn't want to waste any time as his schedule is tightly regulated. This works for him. The consistency from day to day, week to week, and his literal view of the world is what he believes allows him to function. Don consults his married friends, Gene and Claudia. Claudia is a therapist and Gene a psychological researcher. The are outwardly happily married. They revise the 14 page questionnaire.

Don's lack of social nuance is about to cause some problems. He creates a profile on an online dating site and provides links to his questionnaire. He attends speed dating sessions, using the questionnaire as a guideline, he attends parties designed to facilitate relationships. Don winds up with 304 responses. No one matches completely although some women come close.

Gene steps in and sorts through the responses. He sends Rosie to meet Don. Rosie appears not to meet any of the criteria the questionnaire was designed to find. Rosie is 30, a bartender, doesn't exercise, smokes and has red hair in spikes. She also has a rather laid back outlook. But as Don and Rosie are forced into spending time together, Don begins to realize he needs to rethink his methodology.

I loved this book. I found it laugh out loud funny. A sweet charming love story. Yes, Don has aspects of Aspergers, but that is what makes him so interesting. And what makes this book work is that Don and Rosie are comfortable in their own unique skins. Graeme Simsion is a new author and I can't wait for the next book.

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