By Mary Knudstrup, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
The idea of a multi-page questionnaire to weed out the unsuitable and find the perfect wife might seem terribly off-putting until you get inside the head of Don Tillman, a 39-year-old genetics professor who can’t seem to get past a first date. Don has, to put it mildly, a unique way of looking at life due largely to the fact that he has an undiagnosed case of Asperger Syndrome. Always socially awkward (he has only two friends), Don is searching for the perfect woman to complete his life, thus “the wife project,” sixteen pages to weed out the smokers, drinkers, and late-arrivers.
Enter Rosie Jarman, a total washout as far as Don’s questionnaire is concerned but beguiling in her own way. And she has a project of her own: tracking down the identity of her biological father, the perfect assignment for a genetics expert like Don. What follows is Don’s increasing self-awareness as he loosens up his micro-managed life in his effort to help Rosie. Don’s literal and unsubtle observations often don’t play well with those on the receiving end, but fill his narration with good-natured humor and sly insightful truthfulness.
The Rosie Project is a GR Reads pick that will keep you engaged and entertained as you watch Don being nudged away from his spreadsheet approach to life and into the spontaneous and unpredictable world of a totally unsuitable woman.
