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The Rosie Project: Ten Things I Didn’t Know Yesterday

The Rosie Project

This morning I went to a “superfan” event with Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project. It was great to be invited as I’ve hand-sold more copies of this book than a full-time employee at a book-shop! I want the world to read its positive messages about Asperger’s and so have recommended it to a wide-range of people. Those within the autism community have been especially grateful to be introduced to The Rosie Project as it is the first entertaining book on the subject. It manages to treat the condition with respect, whilst promoting tolerance and hope.

I thought I knew a lot about the book, but Graeme Simsion entertained us with many new snippets of information. Here are the top ten things I learnt about The Rosie Project:

WARNING: SPOILERS!!

  1. The book started life as a screen play set in America.
  2. In an early draft Rosie was a Hungarian physicist called Klara.
  3. Don is based on a man Graeme Simsion has known for 30+ years.
  4. Simsion was inspired to write the book after seeing how this friend cared for his wife when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
  5. Graeme Simsion did no research into Asperger’s before writing the book. Everything is based on his observations of those working in the IT industry.
  6. The title was chosen because in Australia the first syllable of “Rosie” rhymes with “project”.
  7. In the first draft of the book Gene was Rosie’s father.
  8. The cocktail scene is based on a real event, one in which Simsion met his wife.
  9. Graeme Simsion has just finished the sequel. It is about what happens when Rosie discovers that she’s pregnant.
  10. Simsion is currently writing a book with his wife. It is a romantic comedy in which she is writing chapters from a female perspective and him the male.

I highly recommend going to see Graeme Simsion talk – he is entertaining, intelligent and full of interesting information. He is currently touring the UK – you can find details of where he’ll be here.

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December/January Summary and Plans for February

I’ve had a mixed few months. December seemed to produce one amazing read after another, but 2014 has been disappointing so far. Many of the books I’d been looking forward to didn’t live up to expectations. Hopefully my run of bad luck will be broken soon. 

In the meantime I’ll focus on the positives. I read three outstanding books in December:

  • The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert was a wonderful piece of historical fiction. It was rich in period detail, had a fantastic female protagonist, and was good old-fashioned story telling at its best. I’ll try not to put you off by mentioning the moss!
  • The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was a entertaining book about a man with Asperger’s finding love. It was refreshing to read such a positive portrayal of someone on the spectrum and it made me cry with laughter – a rare event!
  • Tampa by Alissa Nutting was the most controversial book I read last year, but underneath the graphic sex scenes there were many important messages about our society and its attitude to female paedophiles. 

Books of the Month

The Rosie ProjectThe Signature of All ThingsTampa

Books Reviewed January/December:

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 

Tampa by Alissa Nutting 

My Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty 

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami 

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson 

Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser 

Sex and the Citadel by Shereen El Feki 

The Lie by Helen Dunmore 

The Summer of the Ubume by Natsuhiko Kyogoku 

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd 

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino 

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward 

Jack Glass by Adam Roberts 

Back to Back by Julia Franck 

The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller 

DNF: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux, Underworld by Don DeLillio

Plans for February

I don’t have any firm plans for February, but I hope to read Traveller of the Century by Andres Neuman for Stu’s Pushkin Press event.  I also hope to try most of these books:

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry

The Last Word by Hanif Kureishi

The Free by Willy Vlautin

Feeding the Ghosts by Fred D’Aguiar

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

I hope that you have a wonderful February!

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Brief Thoughts: Jack Glass, Men We Reaped and The Lie

Jack Glass (Golden Age)

Jack Glass by Adam Roberts

Five words from the blurb: society, crime, asteroid, murder, freedom

Jack Glass started well, with a group of prisoners being left on an asteroid. These men will only survive their ten-year prison sentence if they work together to produce food and water, mining the rock for everything they require. The dynamics of this new society was well drawn and each of the characters jumped from the page. Unfortunately things went downhill in the second section. The new characters failed to engage me and I became increasingly bored with the story. The third section was even worse and I ended the book very disappointed. It’s a shame it failed to live up to its early promise. 

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Men We Reaped: A Memoir

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

Five words from the blurb: black, poverty, loss, family, struggle

I loved Salvage the Bones so was excited about trying Jesmyn Ward’s memoir. Unfortunately I found that the story was diluted by the inclusion of too many people. I found it too fragmented and lacking the emotional power of her novel. I’d have preferred a more intimate story, focusing on a smaller group of people.

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The Lie

The Lie by Helen Dunmore

Five words from the blurb: man, returns, war, quiet, consequences, truth

I’ve had a mixed experience with Helen Dunmore in the past (The Siege is one of my all-time favourites, but I wasn’t as fond of The Betrayal) so I wasn’t sure what I’d make of this one. Unfortunately The Lie failed to grab me. It was too slow and gentle. Individual paragraphs were well written, but the central character was distant and I failed to become invested in him. This combined with a meandering plot to create a novel that wasn’t to my taste.

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Have you read any of these?

Did you enjoy them more than I did?

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DVD Review: Untouchable (French Cinema)

Untouchable [DVD]

Five words from the blurb: Paris, slum, quadriplegic, wealthy, adventure

I don’t normally review films on this blog, but I don’t often watch ones that are as good as this! Untouchable is funny, but moving; entertaining, but with a deeper message beneath the surface. It is made even more wonderful by the fact that it is based on a true story.

Untouchable begins in Paris with Philippe, a wealthy quadriplegic, interviewing for the position of his carer. Driss, a poor Sengalese man, is only attending the interview in order to get his benefit book stamped, but Philippe loves his attitude and hires him on the spot. The pair form an unlikely friendship, with Driss injecting fun and adventure back into Phillipe’s life.

The acting was flawless and the chemistry between the two characters was heart-warming to watch. It is rare to see male friendship investigated on screen and I think we could all learn a lot from their interactions.

I loved the way the film highlighted the problem of society looking down on disabled people, assuming they are stupid and of no value. The way it contrasted these issues with the problems faced by those living in poverty was cleverly done. It somehow managed to avoid being condescending, simply showing how important it is to make the most of what we have.

There was a lot of bad language, but it was an accurate portrayal of the people involved and never felt gratuitous. Scenes of a sexual nature wre minimal, but there was a touching love story that added an extra dimension to the emotional rollercoaster.

There were some sad moments in the film, but the majority was uplifting and I ended it with a massive grin on my face. It’s the best thing I’ve watched in ages.

Highly recommended.

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Have you seen Untouchable?

Did you enjoy it as much as I did?

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2013 Chunkster Historical Fiction Recommended books

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Signature of All Things

Five words from the blurb: botanical, explorer, woman, independent, evolution

The Signature of All Things was the best novel I read in 2013. It is a rich, atmospheric story about one woman and her passion for moss. I know that sounds like the dullest premise imaginable, but Elizabeth Gilbert has woven horticultural details with amazing characters and a heartwarming series of events to create a fantastic novel that gets better every time you think about it.

The book begins in 1800 with the birth of Alma Whittaker. Her father’s passion for botany infects her and she gains an interest in moss. Her studies soon get her thinking about evolution and this leads her on a journey that encompasses several continents and enables her to meet a range of fascinating people.

I’m not a keen gardener, but I found the details about plant collecting and classification fascinating. It was eye-opening to learn about the infancy of this industry and the difficulties faced by those trying to cultivate plants like vanilla for the first time.

The book was made extra special by Alma Whittaker – one of the best female protagonists I’ve ever come across. It was a rare pleasure to be able to follow a character from birth into old age with a complete understanding of their fears, desires and motivations. I loved the way that she changed and developed as she aged:

“But you are still young, so you think only of your own self. You do not notice the tribulations that occur all around you, to other people. Do not protest; it is true. I am not condemning you. I was as selfish as you, when I was your age. It is the custom of the young to be selfish. But someday you will understand that nobody passes through this world without suffering – no matter what you think of them and their supposed good fortune.”

Racist/homophobic attitudes were occasionally difficult to stomach, but I think they helped to show how far we’ve come since then.

The plot was slow, but it never dragged and I loved being immersed in the past. Everything appeared to be incredibly well researched (although I’m no expert) and I loved the way that fact and fiction were blended together. It was simply good, old-fashioned story telling with no tricks or gimmicks.

The Signature of All Things is one of those books that sounds far less interesting than it actually is. Trust me. Give it a try!

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Brief Thoughts: Salvation of a Saint, My Husband’s Secret, Underworld, The Summer of the Ubume

Salvation of a Saint

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

Five words from the blurb: husband, dead, poisoning, suspect, deceit

This wasn’t in the same league as The Devotion of Suspect X. The writing was simpler and it didn’t contain any of the same clever twists. I read to the end in the hope of being surprised, but unfortunately I wasn’t. Disappointing.

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The Husband's Secret

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

Five words from the blurb: letter, secret, opens, truth, family

This book was so gripping I found myself trying to read it whilst doing other things. It was a real page-turner, with a fantastic cast of characters. Unfortunately it is one of those books that falls apart under scrutiny and my opinion of it lowers every time I think about it. It created a fantastic discussion at my book group, but I think we’ll all have forgotten what happened by the next meeting.

(because I enjoyed the experience of reading it so much)

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Underworld

Underworld by Don Delillio

Five words from the blurb: baseball, Russian, bomb, global, Bronx

I really wanted to read this modern classic, but I’m afraid the baseball bored me rigid. The writing was fantastic, but I failed to connect to any of the characters and felt an increasing sense of dread every time I picked up this massive chunkster. Life is too short to battle through a book this long that does nothing for you, so I abandoned it after about 150 pages.

DNF

Summer Of The Ubume, The

The Summer of the Ubume by Natsuhiko Kyogoku

Five words: folklore, ghost, real, explanations, mystery

I was worried that this book might be too scary (it is described as horror on the cover) but that isn’t the case. The Summer of the Ubume is a rich discussion of the Japanese spirit world, concentrating on Ubume, the beings created when a pregnant woman dies. Unfortunately the book is dominated by a debate about what is real and what isn’t and I was already familiar with all the quantum physics and most of the philosophical arguments. If you’re new to this sort of discussion then you’ll love it, but I’m afraid I’d heard 90% of it before.

Despite the problems, it is probably still worth reading for all the information about the Japanese spirit world. 

 

Have you read any of these books?

What did you think of them?