Professor Don Tillman has Asberger's. But he doesn't know that. What he does know is that he doesn't do well in social settings and that he wants to find wife. So after years of never being able to get to a second date with a woman he develops, "The Wife Project", a lengthy questionnaire he can give to women to rule out unsuitable women without wasting their time on a first date. The questionnaire involves things like smoking, drinking, vegetarianism and ice cream preferences (after one particularly horrible date), among countless others.
Along the way he meets Rosie, who fails the questionnaire on so many levels. But she is looking to find her biological father and Don, a geneticist, can help her with this. As he sets aside his wife project to help her look for her father, he learns a lot about himself and about what it really means to love someone.
At times it's hilarious, others sweet, but, in my opinion, always enjoyable. Don's rigid routines, his awkward social encounters and his struggles to deal with life as he sees it are fun to read and develop a character that you really grow to care about.
I've read that this book was actually written as a screenplay that was turned into a book and of course, Sony has already optioned the screenplay. So it's quite likely that there could be a movie version in the future. I'm not sure how I'd feel about that, but I've also heard he's working on a sequel to the book. I'm much more interested in that.
So, if you're looking for a funny, light read, I highly recommend this one. It could be my favourite book of 2014 and it's only January 26th!
Wow! A funny, light read. How unusual. All the books that I have been reading are heavy and dark. It's hard to find anything on the lighter side. I'm very happy to read your review because we are planning to read this in June at the Preston Public Library book club. Looking forward to it! Betty
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