From the Bookshelf of Appomattox Regional Library System…

[close] I became aware of this book through the 'buzz' of some friends talking about it. If I enjoy watching "The Big Bang Theory" on television- so went the buzz- then I would enjoy the narrator of this novel, who resembles the character of "Sheldon" on this popular televison show about a group of nerdy scientists who are fairly clueless about normal human interaction with the opposite sex.

Well, the buzz was fairly accurate concerning the similarities of Don Tillman, the protagonist and narrator of "The Rosie Project", and Sheldon, the funny man of "The Big Bang Theory." Both have a tendency towards OCD, overthinking, and totally missing the point of the different worldview that is sometimes to be found in the female mind.

This novel, which takes places at a University somewhere in Australia, is fairly accessible to any English speaking reader who enjoys romantic comedy. That being said, the story and the characters are not played strictly for laughs. There is a bit of heartache and suffering within this book- and let's call that a good thing, because comedy and romance live in the same place where failure and pain live. As we all know from reading romances going back to "Pride and Prejudice", when you reach actual happiness, you have definitely reached the end of the book!

Australian author Simsion has put all the ingredients into this mix in the correct proportions and in the right order. Don't expect laugh-out-loud funny, but the humor is there along with intrigue and character development. Don, a college Professor, attempts to use his genetics researcher skills to identify the biological father of Rosie, a young woman whom he finds extremely attractive as well as baffling and almost maddening. I rate this effort at four stars- and this is a great time of year for a novel with a mix of humor, pain, and tenderness. ARLS has several copies, so you can place it on hold and get your hands on it quickly if you wish. If it proves to be the kind of book you want to talk about, several of the ARLS book groups have it on their schedule for 2014.