''The Rosie Project'' is a 2013
Australian novel by
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n novelist
Graeme Simsion
Graeme C. Simsion (born 1956) is an Australian author, screenwriter, playwright and data modeller. Prior to becoming an author, Simsion was an information systems consultant, co-authoring the book ''Data Modelling Essentials,'' and worked in win ...
. The novel centres on genetics professor Don Tillman, who struggles to have a serious relationship with women. With a friend's help, he devises a questionnaire to assess the suitability of female partners. His plans are set off course when he meets Rosie, who does not fit many of Tillman's criteria, but becomes a big part of his life. The work was first published on 30 January 2013 in Australia by
Text Publishing
Text Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of fiction and non-fiction, based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria.
Company background
Text Media was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Diana Gribble and Eric Beecher, along wit ...
and the rights have since been sold in over 40 other countries.
International sales are in excess of 3.5 million copies and the book was named Book of the Year for 2014 by the Australian Book Industry Association. In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
the novel was published through
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
and in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
through
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[The Rosie Effect
''The Rosie Effect'' is a 2014 novel by Australian novelist Graeme Simsion and the second book of a trilogy including the previous instalment, ''The Rosie Project'', and its sequel, '' The Rosie Result''. The work was first published on 24 Septemb ...]
'', was released in 2014,
followed in 2019 by the third and final book in the trilogy, ''
The Rosie Result''.
Synopsis
Don Tillman is an Australian genetics professor who has spent his days organising his life with the expectation that it will reduce inefficiency, improve himself as a person, and make him an all around happier person. He does not fit in well with others, which has kept Don from dating and having a satisfying romantic life. This is something that confounds him, as he believes that his IQ, physical health, finances, and social status should otherwise make him an appealing mate.
After spending time with his best friend and womanising colleague Gene and his wife Claudia, Don comes up with the idea of the "Wife Project", a questionnaire that would help find the perfect mate. This turns out to be something more easily done in theory, as his questionnaire fails to produce a satisfactory woman and alienates many potential candidates.
Soon after, Gene introduces him to Rosie, a bartender whom he quickly eliminates as unsuitable per his criteria. Despite this, Don finds himself quickly drawn to her and even goes so far to agree to help her find her biological father, a man that her mother slept with after a graduation party — a task Don terms the "Father Project". Her mother is dead and, as such, Rosie cannot ask her for the answer. They can only go on the information that her father was an attendee at the party. The two manage to eliminate most of the attendees via
DNA testing
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
, which Don secretly does in the university laboratory under the guise of it being an official project.
As time progresses, Rosie begins to challenge more and more of Don's habits and assumptions, and he is surprised when she reveals that she is working as a bartender in order to pay her way through university while she works on her
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. He also finds that part of the reason that Rosie is so desperate to find her biological father is because of her unsatisfactory relationship with her stepfather Phil. Don also finally meets a woman who fulfills all of his criteria, but he discovers that he is completely unattracted to her.
Eventually, the "Father Project" eliminates all but a few people, two of which require that Don and Rosie travel to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Once there, Rosie forces Don to abandon his schedules in exchange for a spontaneous trip through the city, which he finds enjoyable. This culminates in the two almost having sex, only for Rosie to change her mind because she is unsure that a relationship with Don could actually work out. The two return to Australia where Don continues the "Father Project" and realises that his friend Gene may actually be Rosie's father since he also attended the party (as the genetics tutor for Rosie's mother's medical cohort) and is also very
promiscuous
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...
.
After some thinking, Don decides that he will test Gene and that he will also try to persuade Rosie to marry himself, as he has discovered that he is genuinely attracted to her. Despite trying to change to fit what he believes she needs, Don is rejected by Rosie when he says that he does not feel love like others do. However, this rejection causes Don to realise that he actually does love Rosie. He also decides to confront her father Phil over her father issues, as Rosie felt neglected because she believed that Phil prioritised his career over her and failed to fulfil a promise to go to
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
, a move that she views as representative of their relationship as a whole.
Rosie inevitably discovers that Gene may be her real father and she confronts him over this along with his wife Claudia, who attempted to ignore his womanising. Don arrives at the scene just in time to watch Phil punch Gene (as Phil had been dating Rosie's mother at the time of her conception), after which Don and Rosie reconcile and she agrees to marry him. Rosie also reconciles with her father Phil and after she marries Don, the two of them move to New York to start anew. The book ends with Don running a final test on a sample of Phil's DNA. This test confirms that Phil was her biological father after all, and the whole issue was raised by Rosie's mother because of Gene's negligence in explaining to his students the rules of eye colour inheritance. Thus, Rosie finds out about her biological father and her mother’s secret love affair remains a secret.
Film adaptation
In September 2014, it was confirmed that
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
optioned film rights to ''The Rosie Project''.
Simsion penned the first draft of the script and screenwriters
Scott Neustadter
Scott Eric Neustadter (; born 1977) is an American screenwriter and producer. He often works with his writing partner, Michael H. Weber. The two writers are best known for writing the screenplay for the romantic comedy film ''500 Days of Summer' ...
and
Michael H. Weber were later brought on to work on the final script, with
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Philip Lord (born 12 July 1975) and Christopher Miller (born 23 September 1975) are an American filmmaking duo. After a meeting at Dartmouth College, they are known for creating the adult animated sitcom ''Clone High'' (2002–2003), directing an ...
set to potentially direct.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people i ...
was cast as the female lead for the film in July 2015.
In October 2015, Lawrence dropped out to star in the film ''
mother!
''Mother!'' (stylized as ''mother!'') is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, and Kr ...
'' by
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction.
Aronof ...
, director of the Oscar-winning movie
''Black Swan''. In July 2015,
Richard Linklater
Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies '' ...
was in talks to direct after Lord and Miller dropped out to do other projects. However, after Lawrence dropped out of the film, so did Linklater.
In 2017,
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
announced that Ben Taylor would direct the film. In 2021, Steve Falk and
Henry Cavill
Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Gera ...
would be announced as the director and the lead actor of the film, respectively.
Reception
Critical reception for ''The Rosie Project'' has been mostly positive and the book was a bestseller in several countries.
''
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
'' gave a favorable review for the work, which they felt was charming.
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
included The Rosie Project as the only novel in his ''Six Books I’d Recommend''.
Notably, however, books from the Don Tillman series have attracted criticism for their portrayal of (implied) autism spectrum disorder in the main character of Don Tillman. ''Spectrum'' author Sara Luterman called ''Th''e ''Rosie Project'' "the worst new book I have read in the past three years". She argues that Tillman is "cut from the same cloth as
Hugh Dancy
Hugh Michael Horace Dancy (born 19 June 1975) is an English actor who rose to prominence for his role as the titular character in the television film adaptation of ''David Copperfield'' (2000) as well as for roles in feature films as Kurt Schmid ...
’s Adam in the
eponymous film,
Sheldon Sheldon may refer to:
* Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name
Places Australia
* Sheldon, Queensland
*Sheldon Forest, New South Wales
United Kingdom
*Sheldon, Derbyshire, England
*Sheldon, Devon, England
* ...
from ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'' and the protagonists of ''
The Good Doctor'' and ''
Atypical
''Atypical'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Robia Rashid for Netflix. It focuses on the life of 18-year-old Sam Gardner ( Keir Gilchrist), who is on the autism spectrum. The first season was released on August 11, 201 ...
''. All portray clueless, quirky white male geniuses to represent autism".
Furthermore, Luterman has argued that Simsion's characterisation of female characters, particularly of those with autism spectrum disorder, reduces them to "villains or intolerably shrill".
Awards
* ''International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Ireland,'' Longlisted, 2015
* ''Australian Book Industry's Book of the Year, Winner,'' 2014
* ''Australian Book Industry's General Fiction Book of the Year,'' Winner, 2014
* ''Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award, Shortlisted,'' 2014
* Best Debut Fiction, Independent Booksellers of Australia Awards, Shortlisted, 2014
* Waverton Good Read Award, United Kingdom, Shortlisted, 2014
* The Indie Awards, Shortlisted, 2014
* ''Victorian Premier's Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript, Winner,'' 2012
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosie Project, The
2013 Australian novels
Australian romance novels
Contemporary romance novels
Novels set in Melbourne
Text Publishing books
Novels by Graeme Simsion
2013 debut novels