Room: A Novel
Held captive for years in a small shed, a woman and her precocious young son finally gain their freedom, and the boy experiences the outside world for the first time. Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating -- a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.
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Community Reviews
Great insight as to how a 5 year old who had not been exposed to the greater world might think and react to it.
Fucking, fabulous book. My all time favourite book. The movie was a terrible representation of the characters struggle with themselves and trust in others.
Pretty good. Pretty good.
I actually couldn't put the book down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.
That probably means it's good.
I actually couldn't put the book down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.
That probably means it's good.
(3.5 stars out of 5)
I haven't decided how I feel about this book. I can't say I enjoyed reading Room, but I did find it very interesting. I commend Emma Donoghue for writing this novel.
I'm not the kind of person who rates book solely on whether on or not I liked it, but rather if the author was able to get me to feel something. What I mean is, whether or not I feel any form of feelings or emotions while reading a book. And boy, did this book stir up all sorts of feelings and emotions!
I can appreciate the idea of having this story told through the eyes of a five-year-old; however, I feel that a lot of potential could have come from incorporating different perspectives as well. (To each their own) The general understanding of the novel is there, but I feel that a lot of unanswered questions remain. I would have like to have had a two person perspective narrating the story (whether it was "Ma" or "Old Nick").
I certainly can sympathize with "Ma" whose name we never find out, because we see and hear what Jack thinks and says all the time and it does get frustrating even for the reader. Those feelings of frustration, annoyance, or even anger, are what I think saved this novel from getting a 2.5 rating.
I haven't decided how I feel about this book. I can't say I enjoyed reading Room, but I did find it very interesting. I commend Emma Donoghue for writing this novel.
I'm not the kind of person who rates book solely on whether on or not I liked it, but rather if the author was able to get me to feel something. What I mean is, whether or not I feel any form of feelings or emotions while reading a book. And boy, did this book stir up all sorts of feelings and emotions!
I can appreciate the idea of having this story told through the eyes of a five-year-old; however, I feel that a lot of potential could have come from incorporating different perspectives as well. (To each their own) The general understanding of the novel is there, but I feel that a lot of unanswered questions remain. I would have like to have had a two person perspective narrating the story (whether it was "Ma" or "Old Nick").
I certainly can sympathize with "Ma" whose name we never find out, because we see and hear what Jack thinks and says all the time and it does get frustrating even for the reader. Those feelings of frustration, annoyance, or even anger, are what I think saved this novel from getting a 2.5 rating.
This book was incredibly difficult to read.
Not because it was badly written. On the contrary, it was hard to read exactly because it was so well written. The juxtaposition between the horrific situation the characters are in and the narration of Jack's five-year-old voice made for a very strange read (in a good way), clashing between innocence and horror. What I thought was so great about this book was that even though we learn all about everything going on from the point of view of a child, we still manage to get a full picture of what is happening. Donoghue manages to capture the world the way a child might see it, but without a dearth of details so that adult readers can still infer and understand everything. I felt like her writing was a bit like walking a tightrope — not becoming too unbelievable with Jack's narration (since he is supposed to only be five), but also not leaving the audience in the dark — and she does it perfectly.
The first part of the book starts out well and then quickly slows down (which is why I took a star off), but I can also see why it would be necessary to have all that time in the Room to establish the plot and characters and situation and all that. Once Jack and Ma escape, though, the rest of the book goes by really quickly, especially as we're following Jack experiencing the world (the "Outside") for the first time and seeing it through his eyes. It's incredibly refreshing to read from his point of view, because it's so unique. It's also really great to read about Ma's journey through her son's eyes from a psychological point of view. Jack is uniquely insightful about his mother's problems (although he can't always articulate it exactly), and I really liked learning about Ma's parallel journey.
I thought that it was a very interesting and great choice on the part of the author that Ma is never given an actual name (although Jack says that sometimes people call her "by her other name"), and that after Ma and Jack escape, Old Nick pretty much drops out of the story. The focus of the story is between Jack and Ma, not particularly on the situation nor the trauma they suffered, and I think that by keeping that thread throughout the book, although the premise of the story and narrator was risky, the author was ultimately very successful.
Not because it was badly written. On the contrary, it was hard to read exactly because it was so well written. The juxtaposition between the horrific situation the characters are in and the narration of Jack's five-year-old voice made for a very strange read (in a good way), clashing between innocence and horror. What I thought was so great about this book was that even though we learn all about everything going on from the point of view of a child, we still manage to get a full picture of what is happening. Donoghue manages to capture the world the way a child might see it, but without a dearth of details so that adult readers can still infer and understand everything. I felt like her writing was a bit like walking a tightrope — not becoming too unbelievable with Jack's narration (since he is supposed to only be five), but also not leaving the audience in the dark — and she does it perfectly.
The first part of the book starts out well and then quickly slows down (which is why I took a star off), but I can also see why it would be necessary to have all that time in the Room to establish the plot and characters and situation and all that. Once Jack and Ma escape, though, the rest of the book goes by really quickly, especially as we're following Jack experiencing the world (the "Outside") for the first time and seeing it through his eyes. It's incredibly refreshing to read from his point of view, because it's so unique. It's also really great to read about Ma's journey through her son's eyes from a psychological point of view. Jack is uniquely insightful about his mother's problems (although he can't always articulate it exactly), and I really liked learning about Ma's parallel journey.
I thought that it was a very interesting and great choice on the part of the author that Ma is never given an actual name (although Jack says that sometimes people call her "by her other name"), and that after Ma and Jack escape, Old Nick pretty much drops out of the story. The focus of the story is between Jack and Ma, not particularly on the situation nor the trauma they suffered, and I think that by keeping that thread throughout the book, although the premise of the story and narrator was risky, the author was ultimately very successful.
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