The Rosie Project- Book Review

Title: The Rosie Project

Author: Graeme Simsion

Published by– Simon & Schuster

Length: 304 pages

Plot: An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don’s Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Favorite Quote– “Humans often fail to see what is close to them and obvious to others.”

The protagonist Don Tillman is a professor of genetics. The story unveils from his point of view. He is super organized, black belt in Akikido, fit, intelligent, successful man, with an undiagnosed Asperger syndrome. Like most people with Asperger’s syndrome, Don is perplexed by social interactions especially with women. He has friend couple, Dr Gene & his wife & Claudia. They are the ones whom Don resorts to time and again for reliable advice. An old friend of Don had once told him that he would be a great husband material and since then Don is in search to find himself an appropriate wife, he calls this search “The Wife Project”.

Rosie Jarman is a part time barmaid who is studying psychology in the same university where Don is a professor. With a minor misunderstanding and coincidence they both end up on a date. Soon after the first meet Don realizes that Rosie is not suitable for the wife project since she is perpetually late, vegetarian, smoker, etc ,which are the key factors that rule her out as an ideal candidate for the wife project. Rosie herself is on a quest of her own. She is looking out for her biological father. Don joins her in the quest. The story becomes very interesting post this.

There are lots of laugh out loud moments. The insight of Don’s mind is very amusing and witty. They way he dissects thoughts is comically appealing. It is a very light read with a predictable story trail.

If you are looking for a no brainer, humorous, well narrated book, grab this one.

Ratings– 3/5

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Hopeless: Book Review

Title: Hopeless

Author: Colleen Hoover

Length: 410 pages

Plot: Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Favorite Quote: “The sky is always beautiful. Even when it’s dark or rainy or cloudy, it’s still beautiful to look at….it’ll be there no matter what…and I know it’ll always be beautiful.”

If you are a person who forms a correlation with the characters and feels the emotions while reading a good book, this one is for you. The book starts off as a young love story with lots of ‘awwww’ moments between ‘Sky’ and ‘Dean’. We see the book unveil from Sky’s point of view. Linden Sky Davis was adopted at the age of 5 by Karen. She is brave, witty and beautiful. But she is damaged in some way. She never has felt a think for any of the guys she has been with until she lays her eyes upon Dean. Sky tries her level best to stay away from Dean but all her efforts are in vain. Dean has a licentious reputation with the greatest dimples, damaged in some way too. Both share a love for running and we eventually come to know why.

As the story picks up you will realize Dean Holder has been keeping secrets and once revealed Sky’s life will never be the same. It is nothing like your normal love stories. The past unveils itself, questioning every aspect of Sky’s existence. Sky has a choice to either know the truth that makes her feel hopeless, or keep believing the lies. The story left me despairing many times. The characters are so well molded that I could actually step into their shoes and feel empathy for the  pain they are going through. Their relationship effortlessly depicts what happens when two people become one: they no longer only share love. They also share all of the pain, heartache, sorrow, and grief.”

Warning: The book has suicide, child abuse and a lot of things that are not for weak hearted people. The feeling will stay with you for a while after you finish reading. Even though the story is devastatingly sad, when you take away all the ugly from the book, the love story is so beautiful that it will melt your heart.

Rating: 3.5/5

Me Before You- Book Review

 

Title: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher:  Pamela Dorman Books

Length: 369 pages

Plot: Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

Favorite Quote: “Some mistakes… Just have greater consequences than others. But you don’t have to let the result of one mistake be the thing that defines you. You have the choice not to let that happen.”

Let me start off by saying that after a long time I have read a book which has touched my heart in a different way. We see most of the part of the book through Louisa’s eyes, apart from a few chapters which makes the writing vivid. Louisa is a 26 year old female with a quirky rather odd dress sense, who has no desire to do anything in life or better herself in any way. She is stuck in a mundane job at a tea shop, which she apparently could have survived in her entire life. Lou is an eccentric woman in a seven year long loveless relationship, fighting over clothes with her sister, living a purposeless life. With major turn of events, she ends up with a job at the mansion near the castle she has been passing by since her childhood. Our other key character, Will is a C5-C6 quadriplegic for whom Louisa starts working. Will was an adrenaline junkie, a successful entrepreneur, a rich, handsome guy with girls drooling over him, until one fateful day he met with an accident and was stuck in the wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The journey of how Lou and Will make a difference in each other’s life, is worth a read. It’s wonderful their fears and insights are exposed, the intellectual stimulation they provide each other, the way they develop strength and become the irrevocably rich individuals as each day in their life unfolds. The affection, the care, the love, the respect, the understanding is so pure and well explained that you would crave for someone like that in your life, if you don’t have ‘the one’ already.

There are quite a few moments in the book that break my heart, but what really chokes my throat is the end, the beautiful, witty, letter in the epilogue. For all the readers who sort out to feel something while reading a book, this one is for you.

Rating: 4/5