The Rosie Effect

I had so enjoyed Graeme Simsion's debut novel, The Rosie Project, featuring his dysfunctional scientist Don Tillman, that I was wary of reading the sequel. The first had made me laugh out loud in several places, and I wondered how Simsion was going to be able to match its humour and originality. I need not have feared, for Don Tillman's second outing continues to be just as charming and engaging as his Rosie Project was.

Rosie and Don have now decamped to New York, followed by their friend and serial philanderer Gene, whose marriage is on the rocks. Both of them are working at Columbia University, but things soon become quite complicated, not only because Gene has moved into their apartment, but also because Rosie has unexpectedly fallen pregnant. Predictably, Don deals with this news by going into overdrive, reading scientific papers on pregnancy, devising schedules and diets, and unintentionally driving Rosie to distraction. Don's eccentricity, which occasionally leads to unexpected and alarming outcomes may have seemed attractive and exciting to Rosie when it was just the two of them, but now seems to be a possible barrier to their future as a family unit. As the pregnancy progresses, she fears that Don won't be able to relate to their baby, and wonders if she would be better off as a single mother.

Simsion manages to extract humour and concern for his protagonists' future, without becoming twee or predictable. I found myself really caring about the feelings of a man, who is not noted for being able to feel or express his own emotions. I also loved the cast of characters he gathers around Don for male bonding and mutual support, and how Don becomes a kind of champion for them all.

It's a less obviously funny novel than the first, but this is because there is more at stake than two individuals and their happiness. I think that because of the stakes, it's a deeper, more engaging read; plus there are still cocktails and lots of great foodie details to enjoy.