The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

Don Tillman is a professor of genetics who has never successfully dated a woman. He is set up to think more about facts and figures than feelings and emotions and therefore a romantic relationship doesn’t seem to be on the horizon anytime soon for him. Then he happens on the idea of compiling a questionnaire in order to find the perfect woman for him. Naturally he designs this scientifically, and specifies all the things that he isn’t looking for too, such as he doesn’t want to be with a woman who drinks or smokes or arrives late. He thinks that a woman with all the attributes he desires will be the one for him, he just has to find her now.

Then he meets Rosie Jarman, who seems to be the opposite of everything he has asked for on paper. Yet she is clever, funny and entrancing. Rosie has her own quest; she is looking for her natural father, something that a genetics expert like Don might be just able to help her with.

I absolutely loved this wonderful book! It genuinely moved me, and made me laugh, smile and cry. The two main characters are so endearing; I was rooting for Don and Rosie throughout. Don’s mindset and the way he is ‘wired’ mean that there are many amusing situations which arise due to his misunderstanding of the emotions behind words and events. This is a sensitive, warm-hearted story of someone who is different yet wants what we all want – someone to share their life with. It is beautiful to observe how Rosie impacts on Don’s life and opens his eyes to a world beyond the one he has always known.

The Rosie Project is a beautifully written, tender and funny portrayal of the eternal search for love.

Published by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin, on April 11th 2013

Reviewed for lovereading.co.uk

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer

‘Rubberneckers. Desperate for a glimpse of death.’

This is a cracking crime novel from Belinda Bauer. Patrick is a complex and yet rather endearing character who has Asperger’s syndrome. He has gone to University to study anatomy in order to try and solve his quest with regard to the death of his father when Patrick was a young boy. His father’s death left a hole in his life. He doesn’t get on well with his mother and she in turn struggles to deal with him.

The novel is also partly set in a neurological ward and we have as one of the narrators one of the people in a coma; he is struggling to muster up any communication that can be understood by the people watching him, those wanting him to return to life; this gives us a unique and fascinating viewpoint on events, and I felt this was a very clever device to use within the story. Another viewpoint is the selfish lazy nurse who was out for herself, this introduced another angle to events in the ward.

Patrick becomes intrigued about the cause of death of the body his group is working on dissecting in his anatomy class. Unlike most of the other students who are studying medicine and saving lives, Patrick has a specific quest which makes him singularly interested in anatomy as a means to answering the question which has dominated his thoughts since his father left his life. ‘He didn’t care what made people work. He was only interested in what happened whey they stopped…’

Patrick’s curiosity and determination is what drives the story forward. He slowly begins to find a new interest in his life, a new goal to solve the fresh mystery he has uncovered. He also developes a little in his interactions with people, such as with compassionate fellow student Meg, despite the boundaries and limitations of behaviour and understanding of others that his condition dictates.

There are so many wonderfully satisfying episodes in the plot which I wish I could write about but I can’t mention them here because they need to be discovered and savoured as you read.

The bringing together of the story arc of the whole novel from beginning to end was very cleverly done and something which I thought about at the end as all the revelations were complete. I loved the way the narrative is structured. Each character feels believable and compelling, and each of their individual parts of the story are so cleverly brought to a conclusion which integrates into the book as a whole.

There is some deliciously dark humour; at times I was laughing an awful lot and wondering whether I should really be laughing at these things, but the way Belinda Bauer writes these events is so clever, combining the gruesome with the ridiculous and mundane to superb effect.

There is genuine terror, suspense and intrigue throughout and I couldn’t read this book fast enough.

A brilliant read, a cracking and inventive mystery, cleverly written and darkly funny, and a standout book of the year so far. 

Published by Bantam Press on 31st January 2013

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ebook of this novel to read and review in advance of publication.

You can follow news about the author on twitter @BelindaBauer