The Rosie Project (by Graeme Simsion)

I forget where I first read about this book, which is not coming out in the U.S. until the fall. But I couldn't wait, since I'm a sucker for British romantic comedy, and so I hunted up a used copy and read it.

I've been slightly hesitant to write about it since the main character is implied to be on the Asperger's spectrum, and I'm really not sure how well the book handles that. He's an incredibly compelling and loveable character, as is Rosie, the woman he doesn't realize he loves. And as an obstacle, I think his own internal emotional process is a good one.

However, it seems like the character gets sold out a little bit towards the end of the book. He seems to suddenly have social skills that he has never had before, and that I'm not sure is truthful to the character, or people on the spectrum. That being said, as a purely rom-commy book, I really did enjoy it. There are a lot of really fun, funny scenes (the cocktail scene being a particular standout) and I even cried at the end. What more can you ask for?


(As an aside, the character of Don felt very familiar, since I read Sherlock fanfiction, and Sherlock is often written as having Asperger's type qualities, to a greater or lesser extent.  It makes him all the more endearing to visualize that he looks like Benedict Cumberbatch.)