I’m excited to be linking up with Kristyn at Chits & Giggles and Anne at Love the Here and Now today for Between the Lines! This month’s book was The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
1. Were you surprised at the ultimate revelation of Rosie’s biological father? Did you suspect someone else?
The ultimate revelation of Rosie’s biological father, Phil, did come as a surprise. When Don and Rosie started the Father Project, I knew it was going to have an interesting turn of events. I did not suspect Phil until the end of the book. Every logical assumption made by Rosie and Don throughout the Father Project made perfect sense to them and to me…at that moment. Due to these assumptions, my first suspicion was for Issac Esler, the psychiatrist in New York, due to his suspicious interaction with Don in the basement of their apartment. My second suspicion was Gene. I mean, his cavalier behavior with having sex with women from as many different nationalities as possible put him towards the top of the list, and the fact that Gene mentioned he took the graduation photo. My idea of Phil being Rosie’s father didn’t start emerging until the end of the book when he punched Gene and when it was revealed that he pulled Rosie out of the accident, which Don described those actions as “instinctual”. The final confirmation, before the blood test, was the fact there was no pin in Ireland on Gene’s office wall.
2. Do Don’s Asperger’s conditions help him or hinder him? Does Don’s having autism offer any advantages in his life?
Having had a couple of friends throughout my life have Austim Spectrum Disorder, I can say that it’s all a matter of perspective and character on whether it helps or hinders you. Obviously, with Asperger’s some of the symptoms are intense interest, difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Don displays all of these and, until he met Rosie, they defined his life. They hindered him from enjoying human interaction, some of those awful dates are good examples, and hindered him in making friends. But they also helped him, because without the fixation to change he would have lost Rosie.
3. Do you feel happy for Don when he gets rid of some of his unique mannerisms in order to win Rosie or do you feel that he lost a part of himself?
I do feel happy for Don. I don’t think the change occurred overnight. We see a slow progression of change in Don throughout the novel, like when time and time again he goes against his logical nature to pursue interacting with Rosie and the Father Project. I think the slow progression was necessary in order for Don to make the bigger changes in the end. I think Don’s actions are the perfect example of evolution, which he loves to discuss, and that instinct rules out reason.
4. Does Gene get his comeuppance? What do you think of his marriage situation?
I personally I’m not a fan of Gene and Claudia’s marriage situation. In regards to Gene getting his comeuppance, I really don’t think that occurred.
I’m looking forward to reading The Rosie Effect to see how it all works out.
Have you read The Rosie Project? What are your thoughts?
