Paula Xiberras
To partially paraphrase ‘Pride and Prejudice’ : “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man ……, must be in want of a wife.”
And so it is in ‘The Rosie Project’, our protagonist , Genetics professor, Don Tillman is in search of a wife that meets his selective criteria, and it is a very selective criteria. Don’s idiosyncrasies are part of his Aspergers condition but he doesn’t know it. That the best laid plans of mice and men don’t necessarily work out is one of the charms of the novel.
I spoke to the author, Graeme Simsion this week, literally after he disembarked from his plane returning from working on the screenplay for the movie version of ‘The Rosie Project’.
Earlier this year, Graeme attended events promoting the book in Tassie; Launceston, Devonport and Hobart and is a regular visitor to Tasmania, as he says, being a resident of Victoria the distance isn’t a factor and even if it were, that wouldn’t keep him away because Graeme is a great fan of Tasmania’s Pinot Noir, a self-confessed foodie for Tasmania’s produce and a bush-walker.
Graeme was attracted to writing about Asperger’s condition from when he worked in info technology and came up with the interesting theory that many of the geeks he met may possibly have been Aspergers and like Don, didn’t know it. In fact he says that many women in Melbourne recognise traits in Don they can see in their husbands. It would seem to be that the line dividing an Asperger from what we have classified as a geek in some cases is a very thin and fragile one.
A unique fact about the Rosie Project is that instead of telling a story of a child with Asperger’s as many asperger’s books do, this book is about an adult dealing with the condition and Graeme explains it is something that needs to be explored, that aspberger children grow up to be adults and encounter complications in a world to which they must learn to adapt and that may not accept easily their individual communication skills.
The book is also unique as it is a love story but not a romance and written from a decidedly unromantic male hero’s point of view. Romance, says Graeme, is the territory of Mills and Boon and unlike that genre, which is mainly female based, his book appeals equally to men. He says his book fits more easily into the genre of romantic comedy that encompasses interest by both male and female and is the stuff of date nights.
All these unique features come together to create what could become a new genre in literature and the good news is that Graeme is already working on the sequel that will see Don Tillman continue to adapt and change to fit into a world that finds him unique.
The title itself perhaps tells us most about this book. With its allusion to ‘everything coming up roses’, and ‘looking at the world through rose coloured glasses. In Don Tillman’s name too, we get an affirmation of the character. Don is a titled name and Tillman means ‘a mighty and powerful man’ and so it is that Don Tillman is a mighty and powerful man, intelligent and also a gene geek!
‘The Rosie Project’ by Graeme Simsion published by Text Publishing is out now.
