In learning that Emma Donoghue had be shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize, I had a feeling her book might be a difficult one to read, one that you have to work at in order to get through it. I was completely wrong.

The story is grim, desperate, yet it is a testament to the love that exists between a mother and child and how freedom as a concept and freedom as a reality are two very different things. The story is told entirely from the point of view of Jack, a five-year-old, who was born in "Room," the space where his mother has been held captive for the past seven years. What he knows as real is what is in Room. Everything else is in Outer Space or in TV. When Jack's safety is threatened by his mother's captor, "Ma" conceives a plan for them to escape that hinges on the courage of her young son.

It is a testament to Donoghue's deft and clever writing that she is able to address complex concept in Jack's entirely believable voice. She does that by using a child's ability to ape without understanding, but also by using a child's often much clearer understanding of the world, because it is so much simpler for them.

Once started, it is impossible to put down Room. Jack's escape scene is particularly harrowing and emotionally difficult to read, but the "side effects" of freedom are equally fascinating and startling.

All in all, Room deserved to be nominated. Highly recommended.