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Graeme Simsion
Graeme Simsion is the author of the much-loved novel The Rosie Project. His books often blend humor with heartfelt stories about finding connection.
The Rosie Project
Synopsis
Don Tillman is a brilliant, socially oblivious genetics professor whose life runs on rigid schedules and rational systems. Having concluded that he is poorly suited to conventional dating, Don applies his scientific mind to the problem and launches the Wife Project: a detailed sixteen-page questionnaire designed to screen out unsuitable candidates and identify the perfect partner with maximum efficiency.
Then Rosie Jarman walks into his life. She smokes, she's perpetually late, and by every measure of his questionnaire she is entirely unsuitable — but she needs Don's expertise to solve a mystery of her own: the identity of her biological father. As the two team up on the Father Project, collecting DNA samples through a series of increasingly absurd schemes, Don finds his carefully ordered world upended in ways no data set predicted.
Narrated in Don's precise, disarmingly funny voice, The Rosie Project is a warm romantic comedy about love, difference, and the limits of logic. Graeme Simsion's international bestseller launched the Don Tillman trilogy and became a word-of-mouth favorite around the world.
Genres
Characters
Don TillmanProtagonist
A rigidly logical genetics professor who approaches finding a partner as a scientific project.
Rosie JarmanProtagonist
A sharp, unpredictable bartender searching for her biological father, and the woman who upends Don's plans.
Gene BarrowSupporting
Don's colleague, head of the psychology department, and closest friend, whose own chaotic marriage and philandering make him an unlikely advisor on Don's search for a partner.
Australian Book Industry Award for Book of the Year (2014)Australian Book Industry Award for General Fiction Book of the Year (2014)Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript (2012)
Frequently asked questions
Is The Rosie Project part of a series?
This novel is the first in a trilogy following Don Tillman's journey. Readers who enjoy the unique narrative voice and character development will find subsequent books continue his story.
Is there a movie adaptation of The Rosie Project?
A film adaptation has been in the works for years — Sony/TriStar hold the rights, and Henry Cavill was attached to star as Don Tillman with Steve Falk directing when the project was last confirmed active in 2021. As of the author's own updates, it has not moved into production and no release date has been set.
What kind of humor does The Rosie Project have?
The humor in The Rosie Project largely stems from the protagonist's highly logical, often literal interpretation of social situations and his attempts to apply scientific methods to human relationships. It's a character-driven comedy of manners.