The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (on CD)

The Rosie Effect
by Graeme Simsion [Compact Disc Simsion] 

Following the hilarious and heart-warming The Rosie Project, which came out the year before The Rosie Effect, was a monumental task. The first book in this pair was a charming and highly stylized contemporary romance, told from a borderline autistic man’s point-of-view. My co-worker described it, accurately, as “What if The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper decided he needed to get a wife.” I absolutely adored that first book, especially in the audiobook format that I listened to. It’s not giving too much away to say that by the end of book one, socially-challenged scientist Don Tillman and his free-spirited lady love have gotten together. In The Rosie Effect, the married couple is settled into a new lifestyle, having moved to New York City from Australia, when Rosie drops a bombshell on her husband: “We’re pregnant!”

Don’s OCDC and hyper-analytical nature take over as he attempts to prepare for fatherhood, amidst some chaotic circumstances. There’s a nice new set of supporting characters present in this book, but the charming nature of the first volume seems to have been sacrificed to make Don ever more quirky. I didn’t really feel the emotional bonds between the characters, despite everything falling back into place in the final moments of the story. If you really like Don Tillman and are curious to follow his path, using his intense sense of logic, you will probably enjoy this one. But if you liked the interplay between Don and Rosie in book one, this was a bit of a disappointment. Still enjoyable, just nowhere near as “fresh” and fun as the first one.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion]

[ official The Rosie Effect web site ] | [ official Graeme Simsion web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read or listened to this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!