The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I read this book for the Terryville Library’s Fiction Lover’s Book Discussion group discussion for this month (August). This book follows a part in the life of Don Tillman, a genetics professor who has recently decided to try and find a wife to share his life with. Since Don is not skilled at social interaction (he is autistic), he decides to use a questionnaire to help him weed out any unsuitable candidates. The double sided 16 page questionnaire covers many topics, including mathematics, daily habits and personal interest. Rosie Jarman is definitely not what Don would call a suitable candidate: a barmaid, a smoker, and a woman currently experiencing many emotional issues. She is everything Don is trying to avoid in his search fora wife. But while he is helping her with a genetics project, he finds himself drawn to her personality on a number of occasions. But can he convince her to love him for who he is, eccentricities and all?
Overall I really greatly enjoyed this book. Don as a character was witty, charming, and entirely captivating. I loved the intricacies of Don’s character and how truthfully he was presented as an autistic lead role. It was really interesting to see how his character progressed through the story and how his relationship with Rosie changed his outlook on many different aspects of his life. The antics he gets into throughout the book due to his different mental abilities are hilarious. I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

The bottom line: I loved this book from beginning to end. Don was an entertaining and endearing character and I found his antics very humorous. I can’t wait to read the sequel, The Rosie Effect. An excellent and engaging read, I would most definitely recommend!

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