Room by Emma DonoghuePublisher: Little, Brown and Company
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 321 pages
Published: September 13, 2010
Synopsis
To five year-old Jack, Room is the world...
It's where he was born. It's where he and Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. There are endless wonders that let loose Jack's imagination-the snake under Bed that he constructs out of eggshells; the imaginary world projected through the TV; the coziness of Wardrobe beneath Ma's clothes, where she tucks him in safely at night, in case Old Nick comes.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it's the prison where she's been held since she was nineteen-for seven long years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in that eleven-by-eleven foot space. But Jack's curiosity is building alongside ma's own desperation, and she knows that Room cannot contain either indefinitely...
Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience-and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.
~Book Jacket
Review
Astounding. An original story that has a "ripped-from-the-headlines" horror to it, Donoghue through the wonderful Jack manages to convey equal parts horror and joy. The narration from Jack is touching and innocent, and gives the story more power than if it were narrated from Ma's perspective. The love that exists between him and Ma are enough to propel this novel into a classic mother-son story, but the context of the novel and the themes make it searing prose that can't be forgotten.
Room is a wonderfully written story that will stay with you long after you finish it.
This is not a light read and there are those who have been unable to finish it due to the dark subject matter. I would recommend this book for those interested in sociology, family relations, psychology and anyone who likes a good read.
-K.C
