The Rosie Effect

February 23, 2015
This sequel to 2013’s The Rosie Project finds brilliant but socially inept Australian geneticist Don Tillman married to medical grad student Rosie Jarman and living in N.Y.C. Don’s orderly life is upended when Rosie gets pregnant and Don’s friend Gene moves in with them. Much of the humor involves Don’s mishaps as he struggles to manage things in a logical way, while misinterpreting social situations and taking
people’s words too literally (he doesn’t get sarcasm, rhetorical questions, or hyperbole). In the wrong hands, this
type of character might come across as unemotional or cold, but Australian
narrator O’Grady strikes the perfect chord, conveying Don’s earnest desire
to do the right thing, his befuddlement when he messes up, and his genuine love for Rosie—all with Don’s rigid thought process and likable quirkiness. O’Grady also does a good job differentiating between different characters: he speaks in a higher register for women and uses a tough-guy voice for a cop, and even makes a somewhat successful attempt at a New York accent for several characters. This is an excellent narration of a highly entertaining story. A S&S hardcover.

November 1, 2014

Don and Rosie are back! Simsion created these delightful characters in his acclaimed first novel, The Rosie Project (a LibraryReads top pick). Now they are living in New York City, where Don is a visiting professor at Columbia University's medical school and Rosie is working on her PhD. Marriage has complicated Don's life, but he is coping. Rosie convinced him to give up the standardized meal system and told him that sex could not be scheduled. As Don determines other ways to manage their lives with the utmost efficiency, Rosie announces that they have something to celebrate. She says, "We are pregnant." This declaration throws Don into a tailspin, but he manages to bounce back. Comic adventures follow as he researches pregnancy, how to be a dad, and dealing with Rosie's late-night cravings. VERDICT Readers who loved the first book are in for another treat. [See Prepub Alert, 7/28/14.]--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

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