Room in Q & A with Emma Donoghue

Jan 03, 2011 Diane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-already

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So much to say about a book that I put off reading for quite awhile.
Ok, I'll admit it, I have no children, I'm quite ok with that, and there aren't any children in my life that I spend any time with; (most of my spare time is spent with dogs and cats.) So how can someone like me have gotten so enthralled with a book that is narrated by a 5 year old boy named Jack?

For the first 50-60 pages, I had to get used to this book, being in Jack's voice, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get thro So much to say about a book that I put off reading for quite awhile.
Ok, I'll admit it, I have no children, I'm quite ok with that, and there aren't any children in my life that I spend any time with; (most of my spare time is spent with dogs and cats.) So how can someone like me have gotten so enthralled with a book that is narrated by a 5 year old boy named Jack?

For the first 50-60 pages, I had to get used to this book, being in Jack's voice, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get through it. Then all of a sudden it took off. There are some parts that might be a bit far-fetched **SPOILER FOLLOWS** in particular, the fact that Jack was able to escape in Rug without Old Nick knowing Jack was really alive, but honestly, I was so stressed out for that entire scene! All the way up until Ma was safe because I thought Old Nick was certainly going to go back to Room and kill her.

Often during the book I had to wonder what I would have done in situations. And once Ma and Jack were safe, I had to keep reminding myself that Ma had not been out of doors in the world for 7 years and that Jack's entire LIFE was Room. I was very touched by so many parts of the story, it's hard to say which touched me the most. I think that what I most enjoyed reading was Jack's time with Grandma and Steppa and all the funny analogies and references that the author wrote. Example: Jack's idea of coffee is it's what adults drink to keep them going. Or when Jack reads the inscription on a New Hampshire coin that says "Live Free or Die" and Jack asks "Does that mean not costing anything"? These things we so innocent, yet so poignant, and there were tons of these saying in the book -- brilliant work by the author to be able to weave humor into such a serious story.

With the exception of Old Nick, there was not one character I did not like.

I LOVED the ending. It gave closure to me as a reader because it gave closure to Jack and to Ma going back to Room. And I was so touched how Jack said "Good-bye" to everything in Room. I've read that some peoplel that read this were critical of Jack's voice because it was too mature for a 5 year old. That may be true, but it did not bother me. There was definitely a difference in his voice in the last section, but to me it represented his own growth as he learned about the world outside Room.

Most touching scene to me, it reminded me of my own "Ma" because she has this to me for my entire life and I hope I remember it when I need to:

Jack: "Will you be dead before I do?"
Ma: "That's the plan"
Jack: "Why that's the plan?"
Ma: "Well, by the time you're one hundred, I'll be one hundred and twenty-one and I think my body will be pretty worn out....I'll be in heaven getting your room ready."
Jack: "Our room"
Ma: "Ok, our room"

...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Charles Sheehan-Miles rated it it was amazing

Who would you be if you were born and grew up in an 11x11 foot room where your mother had been imprisoned and raped? That's the premise of Room, probably one of the most original, terrifying and poignant books I've ever read. Disturbing, tragic and ultimately inspiring. Pick this one up, well worth the read. ...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Deborah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-stella-reads

“Room,” was all I expected it to be and more. Such a great read from an author whose work (“Slammerkin”) I’d enjoyed before. Ms Donoghue has a slightly skewed vision which makes her works artistic as well as engrossing. This book has that nearly, dare I say it, Edgar Allan Poeish twist to it. Or, at least her writing is reminiscent of something more subtlely gothic. It’s a sense I get more than an actual thing written out-and-out. Almost as if this story could have been placed in any timeframe a ...more

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Nov 22, 2010 Sheila Bennett rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Room is a wonderful story, told from the point of view of a 5 year old boy as he is introduced to the "real" world. His first five years were spent in an 11x11 foot room with his mother. His entire existence consisted of the items in the room and what his mother taught him. They did have some books to read, and watched some television. But, he did not realize all of those things he read about - trees, mountains, boys & girls, animals, friends, etc - were actually REAL. The only person he has eve ...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Karen rated it really liked it

I've always liked Emma Donoghue but this is by far her best book to date. She really nails the voice of her five-year-old narrator, Jack. Describing everything from his point of view, a child's vision of a world the reader immediately realizes is deeply screwed up, cannot have been an easy task. Jack lives in Room with Ma. It's all he's ever known, and he can't understand why Ma wants to leave because as far as he's concerned there is nothing other than Room. The things he sees on television exi ...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Kirstin rated it really liked it

This one was really depressing, but soooo good.

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Nov 29, 2010 Ruthie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: orange-baileys-prize

So scared to read this one.....

Okay, finished and it was an excellent book. The crime was not the issue, the relationship and the day-to-day existence of the young woman and her now 5 year old son is the focus. The first third is about their life in the "room", how they live, how she keeps him occupied and educated and healthy. The last 2/3 is about what happens next. The author captures all the different facets of their relationship. It is written from the little boy's point of view, so no terr ...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Jennifer DeWitt rated it really liked it

I expected this book to be scarier than it was. The premise is horrifying - a child raised for the first five years of his life in a single 11 x 11 room with only his mother. Never going outside. Never knowing that a world outside "room" exists. However, this book is not horrifying. It is a story of amazing love and resilience. I would recommend this book to an adult or even a high school student. ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Laura rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 29, 2010 Miriam rated it it was amazing

I had started this ages ago. At the time, the voice bothered me. But since then, I felt compelled to go back...thinking, I'm missing something. And, of course, I was. This time, I was completely hooked by Jack, by the madness of his situation, by his complex view of the world and his relationship with Ma. Really extraordinary. ...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Laura rated it really liked it

Wow, this book gets really exciting about halfway through, turning into a bit of thriller, actually. It's a slight story but very memorable, and I hope they never try to turn it into a movie. It belongs in the voice and mind of a 5-year-old boy, and only a wonderful book such as this could bring it to life. ...more

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Nov 12, 2010 Laurence rated it it was amazing

Well, a very interesting and thought provoking book. In the sense that there is so much one could not possibly think about in relation to someone whose life is spent hidden in a small space at the hands of an abductor. The characters are really well developed and real, as are the issues we are introduced to. The main character, a little boy, is at once so smart and so innocent, as well as brave, and his mom, is made of superhuman stuff....Great read!

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Dec 12, 2010 Ellen Brandt rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-for-grownups, for-grownups

Very unsettling, but hard to put down. (in this regard, it reminds me of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold). Thought provoking in ways that I wasn't expecting. ...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Daniel Rock rated it it was amazing

This is one of the most profound, gripping, and cathartic books I have read. I had tears in my eyes throughout the reading, which was a first to me. The little boy, Jack, was so real and his love for Ma so strong that this alone propelled me to the end. If you enjoy books that introduce you to real, dynamic, and interesting people who go on journeys of revelatory power, read this one. Now.

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