The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion | Rating:  ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Graeme Simsion is not an author I'm overly familiar with. Sure, I know the name. And the title The Rosie Project is thrown around often enough (I'm totally adding it to my to-read list, by the way) that I can recognize who he is and all that jazz. Beyond that, I couldn't vouch for anything he has penned and this was lower on my radar than many of my most anticipated reads. That being said, The Best of Adam Sharp intrigued me from the start and was a pleasant surprise.

In fact, it was one of those books that just felt like a warm embrace whilst reading--I genuinely enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down. Which surprised me, as the novels biggest plot was a bit off-putting. The tone of love was so strong though that it made for a delightfully deep experience--I loved how everything was fueled with music and memories.

Graeme Simsion connected me to his characters through both music and nostalgia and ultimately, that's what made me enjoy The Best of Adam Sharp.


This doesn't mean that the story was flawless or went on without a hitch. I didn't like a lot of the pace at times. I could have done without a view things. At times, there was a distance that I couldn't explain between characters or chemistry and while Simsion's tone made up for a lot of that, it isn't something that everyone will be pleased about. I daresay that some of his longtime readers will not be able to overlook its flaws, or not compare this to his previous works because, from what I understand, it won't hold the heart the same way.

But I still believe it was a solid novel and I'm glad that I read it. The Best of Adam Sharp is smart and nostalgic and offers a pang of love lost and the possibility of it found once more.