I was sadly massively disappointed by this sequel to the Rosie Project, which I loved. I didn’t feel it offered much over and above the Rosie Project; I didn’t feel I got to know or like any of the characters any more. In fact I came to like them less, Rosie in particular.
Right from the start I was having difficulties with the plot. Within the earliest pages (so no real spoiler) we not only discover Rosie is pregnant but also that she has decided to stop taking contraception and get pregnant with no consultation with her partner Don. Bearing in mind the kind of problems Don suffers from and that Rosie accepted him in the full knowledge of his condition, an action like that goes beyond stupid and irresponsible (which I would call it even if he had been the most normal and steady husband on the planet) and reaches crass stupidity and an astonishing level of selfishness to the extent that I almost stopped reading there and then.
The humour was still there with one or two great scenes and one liners but not nearly as many as the previous book and, in fact, most of the humour felt like the same jokes as that first book recycled and minimally massaged into something only very slightly different.
Most importantly, for me the entire gentle, sweet, whimsical feel of the first book was gone and was replaced with a frankly male oriented - misogynistic even – atmosphere of blokes drinking beer together.
I very nearly put this book down half way through. I didn’t but I only skimmed that second half; it really wasn’t worth more of my time than that. Very, very disappointing.
2/5 stars
Right from the start I was having difficulties with the plot. Within the earliest pages (so no real spoiler) we not only discover Rosie is pregnant but also that she has decided to stop taking contraception and get pregnant with no consultation with her partner Don. Bearing in mind the kind of problems Don suffers from and that Rosie accepted him in the full knowledge of his condition, an action like that goes beyond stupid and irresponsible (which I would call it even if he had been the most normal and steady husband on the planet) and reaches crass stupidity and an astonishing level of selfishness to the extent that I almost stopped reading there and then.
The humour was still there with one or two great scenes and one liners but not nearly as many as the previous book and, in fact, most of the humour felt like the same jokes as that first book recycled and minimally massaged into something only very slightly different.
Most importantly, for me the entire gentle, sweet, whimsical feel of the first book was gone and was replaced with a frankly male oriented - misogynistic even – atmosphere of blokes drinking beer together.
I very nearly put this book down half way through. I didn’t but I only skimmed that second half; it really wasn’t worth more of my time than that. Very, very disappointing.
2/5 stars
