The Rosie Project: A review

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was my April book club read. Its narrated by Don Tillman, a lecturer in Genetics at the University of Melbourne. Don is almost 40 when he reads that married men are happier and stronger and so he sets off on “The Wife project” to find himself a partner. Having Asperger’s syndrome, Don is very frank, highly organised, very literal and quite direct. He struggles to read social cues, finds it difficult being flexible and generally has his life planned out by the minute.

In steps Rosie who is everything he isn’t…with a zest for life, chaos and totally “messed up”, she turns Don’s life upside down when he decides to help her with “The father project”. He suddenly finds himself doing and being everything that he is not and he simply can’t help himself.

rosieproject

I really enjoyed the book. While it’s a very easy read and quite funny at times, it also focuses on what so many of us might look at as “weird” in real life. You can’t help but warm to Don as he navigates through his emotions and thoughts to realise that although he may not understand what he is feeling, what he is feeling is love.

This book is an honest, simple and touching tender-hearted love story, I’d definitely recommend it 🙂

Late Fragments by Kate Gross

I stumbled upon Kate’s blog a few months ago and was saddened to read of her illness. I think it makes it sadder when the world loses someone who was doing so much for it. In her mid 20’s, Kate was working at No. 10 Downing Street with Tony Blair followed by Gordon Brown, as their personal secretary’s. She then went on to be CEO of the Africa Governance Initiative of which Tony Blair is a patron.

She passed away on Christmas day but what makes her story even more tragic is it happened 10 minutes before her 5 year old twin boys came running in to ask “Is it morning?” Earlier this month her book Late Fragments was published and I immediately ordered a copy which I practically devoured in one sitting.

You wouldn’t be wrong for thinking this is a book about cancer and in many ways of course it is (it’s the reason she writes the book). It tells of Kate’s story and how she deals with knowing death is coming knocking at her door. But to me it’s also a book about life. The book is filled with one liners that make you sit up and think. When asked by someone “What is the best thing cancer has given you?” her response was “a feeling of being alive, awake”.

It reminds you to really live your days, make the most of your life and follow your heart. She wrote the book for her two “knights” whom she hopes will one day read it and know her a bit better.

This book will bring you to tears but it will also raise your spirits. From the little I’ve read about Kate and the work she did, I think this was exactly the kind of reaction she was hoping for.