The Best of Adam Sharp

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion, 314 pages

Twenty-two years ago, British IT worker Adam Sharp took a contract gig in Melbourne, Australia. While he was there, Adam took up a part-time gig playing the piano at a bar, and fell in love with Angelina, a gorgeous actress who was trapped in a horrible marriage. Years later, after complete silence between the ex-lovers, Angelina contacts Adam again, disrupting his stale relationship with live-in girlfriend Claire and sending him on a nostalgia-filled trip, both mentally and physically.

This is Simsion's third book, after the absolutely fantastic The Rosie Project, and its somewhat meh sequel, The Rosie Effect. This one, I think, is a lot closer to his debut, quality-of-writing-wise, though I'm coming to the conclusion that nothing's going to measure up to Simsion's initial release. The premise here is more than a little unbelievable — it's definitely the fantasy of a middle-aged IT guy spelled out on the page — though Adam's personal growth throughout said fantasy is admirable.