This book is the novelistic equivalent of a romantic comedy. A good one, though: Clueless or Notting Hill or When Harry Met Sally.

It’s clever and funny and sweet, the sort of book you’ll want to read poolside, along with a tropical drink. Or several.

It concerns Don Tillman, genetics professor, brilliant, socially awkward (likely on the autistic spectrum although he has never been officially diagnosed) and his attempt to find a wife.

The survey he developed (to remove various unsuitable candidates from consideration in an effort to date more efficiently) seems perfectly logical, but the course of true love never does run smooth, or logically in any way at all.

Rosie Jarman is absolutely unqualified for the Wife Project, but Don manages to get entangled in her life, helping her search for her biological father, and discovering, much to his surprise, that’s he’s having the time of his life.

The Rosie Project will, no doubt, be turned into a movie—apparently the rights have been sold and a film adaption is eventually in the works. (The book started as a screenplay, before the author decided to turn it into a novel–a debut novel, after he decided to write fiction at age 50. Prior to that he was an IT consultant. Go figure.)

Movies feature largely in the plot, especially when Don decides to give himself a crash course on socially acceptable behavior by watching romantic films. This, of course, doesn’t work out quite as planned—but really, what ever does? He’s a very likable character…once you look beyond his eccentricities and start to see his kindness and warmth, you, like Rosie, will likely fall for him a bit, too. And we all need a little escapism these days.

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HOW TO PURCHASE: Amazon

NOVEL: The Rosie Project

AUTHOR: Graeme Simsion

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2013

LEAD-IN IMAGE

Book cover, The Rosie Project, published by Simon & Schuster / Marysue Rucci Books