Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

It is rare that I have to put down a book, because the subject matter is so upsetting. It is even more rare that the storyline is so compelling, and the story telling so brilliant, that I feel I have to pick the book up again and finish reading it. This was the case with Room. The story is told completely through the eyes of 5 year old Jack. Right from the start it is clear that there is something very odd about Jack's life. Jack's mother, Ma, has created a world for Jack full of creativity, learning, and fun within the 11X11 foot garden shed in which they are being held prisoner. Ma manages to shield Jack from most of the horror of their situation, but it soon becomes obvious that she must renew her efforts to escape. Despite this book's profoundly disturbing premise, I was completely swept away by this story. While it may not make an easy "vacation read" it is a work that is certainly not to be missed. I would love to hear your thoughts on this amazing novel. Please click on "comments" below, and let me know what you think of Room.


Kirkus Review starred (August 1, 2010)

Talented, versatile Donoghue (The Sealed Letter, 2008, etc.) relates a searing tale of survival and recovery, in the voice of a five-year-old boy. Jack has never known a life beyond Room. His Ma gave birth to him on Rug; the stains are still there. At night, he has to stay in Wardrobe when Old Nick comes to visit. Still, he and Ma have a comfortable routine, with daily activities like Phys Ed and Laundry. Jack knows how to read and do math, but has no idea the images he sees on the television represent a real world. We gradually learn that Ma (we never know her name) was abducted and imprisoned in a backyard shed when she was 19; her captor brings them food and other necessities, but he's capricious. An ugly incident after Jack attracts Old Nick's unwelcome attention renews Ma's determination to liberate herself and her son; the book's first half climaxes with a nail-biting escape. Donoghue brilliantly shows mother and son grappling with very different issues as they adjust to freedom. "In Room I was safe and Outside is the scary," Jack thinks, unnerved by new things like showers, grass and window shades. He clings to the familiar objects rescued from Room (their abuser has been found), while Ma flinches at these physical reminders of her captivity. Desperate to return to normalcy, she has to grapple with a son who has never known normalcy and isn't sure he likes it. In the story's most heartbreaking moments, it seems that Ma may be unable to live with the choices she made to protect Jack. But his narration reveals that she's nurtured a smart, perceptive and willful boy-odd, for sure, but resilient, and surely Ma can find that resilience in herself. A haunting final scene doesn't promise quick cures, but shows Jack and Ma putting the past behind them. Wrenching, as befits the grim subject matter, but also tender, touching and at times unexpectedly funny.