Brown Baggers met to discuss The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion on July 21. The novel was universally hailed as delightful by all members. Although not easy for everyone to get into at first, the book is a quick read that kept readers laughing. While, as some readers thought, it may be an extreme account of a man with Aspberger’s Syndrome, most readers found main character Don’s positivity about being “wired differently” heartwarming. The fact that he also has a successful career and hobbies, and relatable struggles to find a romantic partner provided hope for those who know children with similar characteristics. Don was, in addition to being quite entertaining, a very sympathetic character. Readers were rooting for him. Even when they suspected the ending, they wanted it to turn out as predicted just to see him succeed.

As the author hoped, the characteristics that make Don different didn’t overwhelm the characters or become the focus of the story. Instead it was just a love story told by a unique character – one who has the ability and feels it necessary to calculate a person’s BMI in a blink. His journey to find a partner also brought him to quite a few moral conundrums leading him to be less judgmental at the same time behaving in a less regimented way and having a broader understanding of other’s sometimes questionable behavior.

The cinematic speed and dialog were obvious to most readers. This may not be surprising since it was originally a screenplay that author Simsion adapted into a novel. And thankfully it’s in production as a movie because many readers could picture it as one.

Author interview with the Australian Writers’ Centre

Author’s  TEDx talk

Brown Baggers Mentions 
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson – a similarly sweet, though challenged, love story

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon – featuring an autistic teen as a protagonist

Dan Brown – similar in pacing and intrigue, although completely different in topic and much less sentiment

Next month’s meeting will be on Thursday, August 18. We’ll be reading The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown.