讀書心得： 'The Rosie Project' by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project 是澳洲作家Graeme Simsion的第一本小說。 一本輕鬆愛情喜劇，風趣可愛。 男主角Don是一個超級龜毛、理性刻板的大學遺傳學教授，而女主角Rosie則個性鮮明，完全不按牌理出牌，還抽菸喝酒。 兩個南轅北轍的人原本毫不相干，但誤打誤撞的共同投入解開Rosie的身世之謎，這一對歡喜冤家碰撞到一起當然火花四濺，鬧出一幕幕讓人爆笑的荒謬趣事。 

Graeme Simsion本人本來是IT界的大拿，中年以後才改行寫作。 他的背景太對我們這種電腦電機工程師的口味了；或者說，喜歡Don的讀者，多多少少也有一些類似的特質吧—重視理性、邏輯、計畫，一切按部就班。 老公說，這是一本給geek看的喜劇。

男主角太可愛了，雖然在現實生活裡大概會很叫人抓狂。 老實說，以前上學上班時，我的生活設計得跟他一樣刻板，固定分配時間讀書、煮飯、打掃、社交。。。盡量以最少時間達到最大收效。 大學我就喜歡上optimization這一課，活學活用落實到生活中每件事也像畫拋物線一樣在各個條件綜合下達到那個最高點，而且如果能夠同時完美處理兩三件事，更覺得“賺到了”一樣開心。 遇到老公以後，他大嘆，“難道你生命的每分鐘都必要是productive嗎?”  以前我家隨時都看起來就像樣板房，根本沒人住一樣整潔，這些年我已經盡量在改這毛病，好友們都說我已經比以前放鬆多了。 這本書我也推薦給老公看，他剛讀完，一邊讀一邊笑。 老公說頭尾都很精彩，中間部分有些悶，不過還是有亮點，喜歡。

這本小說原本是以劇本的方式寫的，現在大紅了，一定會被搬上大屏幕。 趕快搶先看啦。

Quotes:

“Height, weight and body mass index.’ Gene was skimming ahead. ‘Can’t you do the calculation yourself?’ ‘That’s the purpose of the question,’ I said. ‘Checking they can do basic arithmetic. I don’t want a partner who’s mathematically illiterate.” 

‘You are the world’s most perfect woman. All other women are irrelevant. Permanently. No Botox or implants will be required.

“I asked you here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” 

“I haven’t changed my mind. That’s the point! I want to spend my life with you even though it’s totally irrational. And you have short earlobes. Socially and genetically there’s no reason for me to be attracted to you. The only logical conclusion is that I must be in love with you.” 

It seems hardly possible to analyze such a complex situation involving deceit and supposition of another person’s emotional response, and then prepare your own plausible lie, all while someone is waiting for you to reply to a question. Yet that is exactly what people expect you to be able to do.

I have heard the word ‘stunning’ used to describe women, but this was the first time I had actually been stunned by one.