The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion, review: A brave, funny conclusion to an atypical trilogy

When The Rosie Project came out in 2014, it marked the beginning of what has become a widely beloved book series – the kind that leaves you checking in with its characters when a new tome comes out like you would on old friends. With The Rosie Result, Australian author Graeme Simsion wraps up what will live on as a trilogy, bringing an end to a story that The Independent originally hailed as “pitch-perfect” and “extremely funny”.

Five years have elapsed since The Rosie Project arrived, introducing Don and Rosie, a pair of scientists and mutual love interests, to the world. While the novel remains funny, quirky, and moving, its drawbacks have perhaps become more noticeable with age. The Rosie Result, then, presents itself as a test of sorts, or rather an opportunity to address those challenges head-on.

The Rosie Result does just that. Simsion delivers a brave attempt at asking important questions without compromising his characters’ respective journeys, nor losing his trademark mix of humour and emotion. When we first met Don in The Rosie Project, he was a single, 39-year-old genetics researcher with what the novel depicted as definite quirks. Autism was an underlying theme, but the story never adopted a clear stance on whether or not Don is on the spectrum. The novel’s portrayal of autism, and specifically of Asperger’s, felt slightly gimmicky, reminiscent of Sherlock or The Big Bang Theory’s characters whose behaviour is consistent with the syndrome, yet never clearly addressed.

In a welcome change of direction, Simsion makes autism the central theme of The Rosie Result. Don and Rosie, who spent the first volume starting a relationship and the second instalment becoming parents, now have an 11-year-old son named Hudson, who struggles to fit in at school. He shares some of his father’s traits, and after a series of incidents, the school urges Don and Rosie to consider seeking a formal autism diagnosis for their only child.

Don and Rosie, then, are left pondering whether that’s the right move. Would a diagnosis afford Hudson more help, or would it restrict his sense of identity? Meanwhile, Rosie and Don each have to deal with their own crises: Rosie is having difficulties balancing her professional life and her parenting duties (a well-known conundrum, but presented in a practical manner that makes us feel her frustration viscerally), Don is wrestling with a racism-related incident at work, and the family’s many friends each have issues that need solving, preferably with Don’s help.

Of course – because Simsion is a gifted plotter – those narratives interlink, bringing us on a fast-paced, enjoyable journey. Don has become a profoundly likeable protagonist, and it’s a joy to watch him grow as a supportive partner and as a concerned, caring father. In The Rosie Project, Rosie’s portrayal felt uncomfortably close to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype (a quirky female love interest here to rescue the misunderstood male protagonist), and her feminism, while clearly expressed, felt like her point of view, rather than one of the driving forces of the story. This has changed, and Rosie is now a realistic, fully fledged character, happy to let her partner take the lead on family matters when her attention is needed at work, where she has no patience for the male colleague – aptly nicknamed Judas – who consistently undermines her. Don’s friend Gene, probably the trilogy’s least likeable character, is held accountable for his past behaviour. Even Don’s problematic manner of estimating the BMI of everyone he meets (do we really need to define each character by their weight?) is acknowledged, though his attempts to stop doing it only reinforce his habit.

At the heart of the story is Don’s relationship with Hudson, which causes him to re-examine his relationship with his own father, and ultimately with himself. The question of autism is explored through discussions among characters who disagree on whether it should be considered a condition or a part of someone’s identity. In that context, is treatment a chance for someone to find their place in society, or an unfair pressure to fit in at a cost to their true selves?

On this topic, as on many others, the novel makes choices, because it has to, all the while making it clear that these are individual decisions resulting from these characters’ set of circumstances, not universal guidelines. The resolution feels earned and genuinely heartwarming. It’s fascinating to see how the portrayal of Don and his family has evolved over the years, and while Simsion’s cast of characters will be missed, he is certainly ending on a high note.

The Rosie Result is published by Michael Joseph, £14.99