To celebrate our upcoming author event with Graeme Simsion, Wyo reviews The Rosie Effect.

 ‘The Rosie Effect’ is the new sequel to Graeme Simsion’s hugely successful debut novel ‘The Rosie Project’. The narrator is Don Tillman, a genetics professor who has difficulties relating to others, interpreting social situations and is probably somewhere on the Autism scale. At the start of the novel, Don is living with his new wife, Rosie, in New York. A number of dilemmas crop up throughout the novel which most men would find challenging, but which for Don are a special kind of difficult – the most significant challenge for Don being Rosie becoming pregnant.

‘The Rosie Effect’, like ‘The Rosie Project’, is incredibly funny, clever, and heart-warming, while at the same time being extremely touching and at times deeply moving. Don’s personal difficulties create many situations for him, Rosie, and his friends which are extremely entertaining and almost absurd (in the best way possible), and Don’s perspective is extremely quirky and refreshing. While these social blunders are amusing, there is also a huge outpouring of sympathy that is created for Don, as sometimes the reader understands the cruelty of others while Don is somewhat blind to it. By looking through Don’s eyes, the reader experiences a truly unique and fascinating perspective of the world, marriage, friendships and parenthood, and is able to get a sense of how life is for someone trying their best to fit in, while everything is immeasurably more difficult than it is for most of us. This is a unique book, one of very few which have had me laughing out loud, staying up all night to finish it, and giving me a new perspective on many of the things that I take for granted.

As a sequel to such a wonderful novel, most readers and lovers of ‘The Rosie Project’ – myself included – might be anxious to continue reading, in case the magic of the first book is diminished by a disappointing follow-on. The message here: stop worrying. ‘The Rosie Effect’ is the perfect sequel, matching the first book in every way, while delving deeper into the main characters and into Don’s world, and the difficulties experienced by someone who finds interacting with others so challenging. Both ‘The Rosie Project’ and ‘The Rosie Effect’ are my number one recommendation for anyone after a book that is entertaining, funny, romantic and light – while still being extremely clever, quirky and original. Women might be more immediately attracted to these books, but there is no reason that male readers won’t enjoy them just as much.

‘The Rosie Effect’ is the perfect read for the start of summer; for anyone who loves the prequel; for anyone after a few wonderful hours in Don’s unique and hilarious world. 

The Rosie Effect is OUT NOW!

Wyo Paul

It is sometimes difficult to recommend, or find, truly engaging and original science fiction novels that could appeal to a wide adult audience. Fantasy is more accessible and perhaps a more popular genre, often dominating the ‘otherworldly’ section of book shops. As wonderful as fantasy is, and as much as I love these books that can range from beautifully surreal and magical (The Night Circus) to dark and twisted (Let the Right One In), there is something particularly poignant and sharp about the plausibility of science fiction tales.

Science fiction is sometimes stereotyped as geeky, as stories about spaceships, aliens and impossible technology. However, this is not how I see science fiction: unlike fantasy, which brings to life mythical creatures, superhuman beings and magic, science fiction novels tell the stories of worlds which could, plausibly, come about and develop from life as we know it. Discussed here are two very different science fiction novels that you don’t need to be a sci-fi lover to love.

‘Ready Player One’ by Ernest Cline

This is a hugely engaging, exciting and entertaining novel, often funny and sweet, which I stayed awake all night to finish reading. Set in 2044 on Earth, ‘Ready Player One’ manages to show a very pessimistic possible future, characterised by extreme overcrowding, environmental catastrophe and poverty, while not focusing on these features, lecturing the reader, or creating a dark or negative atmosphere. To escape the harshness and depravation of reality, most humans in ‘Ready Player One’, including narrator Wade, carry out their lives in a virtual utopia called OASIS. The creator of OASIS has died, leaving the control of his empire and fortune to the winner of a momentous quest within the virtual reality. Wade battles against millions of others in this quest of riddles and 80s pop culture, in a hugely engaging and exciting journey. This novel would appeal to both science fiction fans (and especially those with 80s culture knowledge) and anyone after a novel that is fun and keeps you reading until 5 am.

‘The End Specialist’ by Drew Magary

This novel is one of my absolute favourites. Written as the records and diary of John Farrell, this novel spans about a century, starting with the discovery of a cure for aging. While this is not a new idea, the realness, complexity and imagination that this book brings to the idea of immortality is hugely refreshing. The story begins with the Cure, and the various arguments for and against its legalisation, and then unfurls with the consequences of having an immortal population in a world of limited resources and space. As can be imagined, the consequences are not pleasant. Unlike so many books that are largely focused on the main characters, I loved this novel for its clever and thoughtful exploration of the different political, social and economic results of the Cure around the world. Magary has clearly put a lot of thought into this novel and creating an immortal world that feels sadly very realistic; this book looks into how immortality would affect marriage and divorce, government policy, internal conflict, families, prostitution, freedom, crime and justice. Absolutely, this novel is dystopian – if you want a light, fun read, this is not for you. But if you are after a story that is thought-provoking, intelligent, dark, critical of people, science and politics – I have not yet found anything better.