Review: The Rosie Project

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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I was extremely disappointed by The Rosie Project. At the time I began reading it, its Goodreads rating was a 4.15 out of 5 which is pretty dang high. Many books of much higher quality are getting ratings much much lower. Now to be completely honest, this is more of a chick-lit type of novel, which I tend to avoid. It's a love story about a guy who thinks he can find a perfectly compatible wife by scientific means alone and all the while, without realizing it, he falls for a girl named Rosie who fits none of his criteria (this isn't a spoiler - you can pretty much figure it out by reading the book jacket).

The book is written as a comedy, which I think is its first great fault. I can think of only 1 or 2 comedy books that were successful in being a good story as well as being a comedy. I don't think there was a single time that I laughed out loud while reading this novel. Sure, some things were smirk-inducing but it kind of took away from what could have been a great story. I'll echo what other reviewers have said by pointing out that this could have been a much better novel if it were written as a drama rather than a comedy.

There were also some things that I found myself really picking apart such as the fact that this alleged genius had such a poorly-crafted scientific method in the Rosie Project that it took away a lot of the credibility for me. Also, some of the events in the story were just so over-the-top that I wanted to tear the pages out.

In the end the book was simply okay. It was mildly entertaining and readable and will likely get picked up as a romantic comedy in a big-budget movie. And quite honestly, that's where it would be better. It might even be funny as a movie. It just wasn't as a book.



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