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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
3.0
funny medium-paced

I want to say that this is a nastily funny romance, but that's not really true. (It's only almost true.) In many ways it's a sweet, funny romance between a neurodiverse man called Don and a woman called Rosie. Don, hopeless with women, has put together a lengthy questionnaire by which he is trying to narrow down, with scientific accuracy and objectivity, a partner who will be perfect for him. Every reader can tell you where this is going - Rosie fulfills none of the criteria, and he falls for her anyway. His efforts are touching, and amusing, but the thing is they're only amusing because Don's brain doesn't work the same way as most people's. He doesn't understand social interactions, and a lot of the humour comes from the problems that occur when he routinely gets those basic interactions wrong. The thing is - and this is where I was tempted to call it nastily amusing - it's funny because I'm laughing at Don, not with him. And he's a decent person, trying his best. He doesn't really deserve to be the constant butt of the joke here, but he is. And all the sweet sugarcoating in the world doesn't really make up for that.