The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion explores the romantic and comedic errors of a man with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome, Don Tillson, as he looks for a wife. As a professor of genetics, Don lives an orderly, predictable life in a protected academic setting. Trouble ensues when he decides that he is ready to find his life’s partner. Set in Melbourne, Australia and New York City, the novel is told in the first person from Don’s perspective.

The Rosie Project sits within the tradition of the initiation novel, though the protagonist is 39 years old. During the course of the novel, Don grows up and has his first experience with romantic love. Because of his difficulties with social interactions, when the novel begins Don has not had a significant relationship, or even a second date.

Don decides that it is time for him to get married, so he organizes the Wife Project. He develops a stringent and detailed 16-page questionnaire to weed out all of the inappropriate and unqualified women. He hopes this process will identify a select pool of perfect candidates from which he can choose a partner.

Rosie enters the picture when Don mistakes her for a Wife Project applicant. A graduate student in psychology, Rosie intrigues Don from the moment they meet, despite her clear lack of suitability. She agrees to a date with Don, during which Don agrees to help her find her biological father in order to keep the relationship going.

Through their madcap adventures collecting DNA samples from more than 40 possible fathers, Don and Rosie fall in love, though they both refuse to acknowledge the fact. Don fails to recognize how he feels about Rosie because she does not fit the guidelines for his perfect partner. She smokes, has weird food issues, and is chronically late. Rosie denies her feelings for Don because he lacks social skills, adheres to a rigid and obsessively structured schedule in all areas of his life, and dresses like a bum.

Once Don realizes his love for Rosie, he knows he will have to change considerably if he is to win her affection. With vigor, humor, and determination, he sets out to transform himself into a person she can love. Rosie eventually agrees to marry Don, and they embark upon their “happily ever after” in New York City. The Rosie Project demonstrates the ways in which people navigate the requirements of a meaningful relationship with another person while remaining true to yourself.