Room in Q & A with Emma Donoghue

Jan 05, 2011 Dilly | Book Affairs rated it it was amazing

it's been awhile since i read a book that gave me a real nightmare. Room by Emma Donaghue got me hooked from the very first page but because of assignments and being generally busy i couldn't really get into it until last night. i couldn't keep the book down all night and it was past four am and i had to force myself to go to sleep. so deeply did the story of Room-about a young boy and his mother who are imprisoned in a room, only the young boy, Jack, does not know there is a world outside it-af
it's been awhile since i read a book that gave me a real nightmare. Room by Emma Donaghue got me hooked from the very first page but because of assignments and being generally busy i couldn't really get into it until last night. i couldn't keep the book down all night and it was past four am and i had to force myself to go to sleep. so deeply did the story of Room-about a young boy and his mother who are imprisoned in a room, only the young boy, Jack, does not know there is a world outside it-affect me that i literally had nightmares the rest of the night. although a little disturbed and unnerved by what was a very bad night's sleep, i couldn't resist opening Room as soon as i woke up, and read through the rest of the day, leaving the bed only to grab a cup of tea. that was how enthralling a read it is! the story itself is inspired by real events but in no way based on them or about them per se but you do get a sense of bad dejavu about similar stories that made headlines in the past. what makes Room such a wonderful book is not just because of the story itself but because of how well it's written. the story manages to be disturbing and yet deeply heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time. the writer makes the narrative so believable, coming from 5 year old Jack's perspective and maybe it is this fact, that all the action and experience of Room is from the perspective of a little boy that makes the reader feel all these contradictory emotions within the course of the novel.

it's often the case that novels tend to be sweeping, with multiple plots and multiple narrative voices, etc. the genius of emma donaghue lies in the fact that although being so narrow in her focus, with the first one and a half of the novel more or less positioned inside a 11 by 11 room, and just the three human (i make this distinction because Jack's perspective of the room involves personifying pretty much most things in Room, including Room) characters and their actions (or lack thereof) inside it, she still manages to keep the reader so involved, so interested, albeit sharing in the claustrophobic confinement of the characters themselves. we are trapped as much as they are, inside a confined narrative space, but for us the reader this confinement is what makes Room such an enthralling piece of fiction.

this post is not a review of Room, rather a RAVE of it. Room is quite possibly one of the best books i've read in my whole life and i highly recommend it. don't just take my word for it, it was also one of the six shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2010, so i'm obviously not the only one psyched about it. the book is so much more than a good story. it's quite possibly one of the great modern works of fiction to come out this decade. it does what most great books do. it questions life as we know it, it makes us see the world a little if not a lot differently than we did before opening its pages, it's at once endearing and unnerving, and most importantly when you finally get to the end you feel like you've made an incredible journey, with people you've got to know so well, and you're if not for a day, a week or a month, at the very least, for a moment, changed by the experience. if you have read it already i'd love to know your thoughts and if you haven't, well...if there is any book you should make a point to read this year...Room sure should be right up there on the list. ok, rave over. ...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Judy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 21st-century-fiction

My review of Room is now available for non-subscribers at BookBrowse. I begin thus:
"When I finished this brilliant novel, besides being as locked into its story and world as Jack and Ma were in Room, I had no idea how I would review it. I was convinced there was nothing I could say about it without the entire review being one big spoiler. For me, what made Room so great was that I never knew from page to page what would happen next..." Continue reading the review at BookBrowse.com.

Room is a fi ...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Melissa Crytzer Fry rated it it was amazing

Wow. That pretty much sums up this novel by Emma Donoghue. Somehow, the author masterfully captures the voice and innocence of a five-year-old child, but in such a way that it’s still a captivating read for adults – and in such a way that we still clearly see the story of his mother, “Ma,” and hear her voice. This novel is, in my opinion, the quintessential example of the writing rule, “show don’t tell.” Magnificent example of accuracy in a character’s voice. Incredible, really.

I don’t think Don ...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Kim rated it it was amazing

Since "Room" by Emma Donoghue is one of the more popular books at the moment, a lot of you have probably heard the name and heard about it. Some of you may think because of the description that it would be too emotionally difficult to read. I was at first, scared to read it. Why would I want to read about this horrible thing? Thank Goodness a friend convinced me. Yes, it is a different kind of book. Not a happy topic- girl being kidnapped, held hostage many years, has a son and so on. I don't wa Since "Room" by Emma Donoghue is one of the more popular books at the moment, a lot of you have probably heard the name and heard about it. Some of you may think because of the description that it would be too emotionally difficult to read. I was at first, scared to read it. Why would I want to read about this horrible thing? Thank Goodness a friend convinced me. Yes, it is a different kind of book. Not a happy topic- girl being kidnapped, held hostage many years, has a son and so on. I don't want to go on or I will ruin the book. HOWEVER, the author is able to get across the anguish of the girls/woman's life while being held captive, without any explicit violent or sexual details. Instead, she focuses on: how the mother raises a boy in a 11 x 11 room, survival, mental tenacity, human relationships, and stories that touch on the darker side of mental health. All about a loving mom creating a happy environment for the child even in the worst of circumstances. It touched me and made me think about how much STUFF we really need in life to be happy. Not much if we have LOVE. Sometimes a book comes into your life when you need it most. This book is making me think about many things. Life- how we live it. My kids- how we teach them to live life and do much more.

The book is narrated by a 5 year old who was born and raised in this 11x11 room, a garden shed, that a man put his mom who he kidnapped 2 years before he was born. Making mom held hostage for 7 years. It took me a while to get use to the voice, the baby talk. Stay with it though because once you allow herself to get inside his 5 year old head, well, that is when you start thinking about things differently. The author said it best, "to frame this story through a mother's eyes "would be too obviously sad." To me, the author didn't want you to be sad for Jack because he was trapped in this room. She wanted you to ponder questions. Questions about love and materialistic things. What is really important in life? Questions about psychology, sociology and of course politics. With a few items the kidnapper provides her, the mom develops a routine for every day: Phys Ed, math, games, music, TV time (but mostly educational), Shakespeare, the bible, mother goose, manners and how to clean. The story focuses on how the mother educates, nurtures, loves and entertains her 5-year-old little boy in this one room while trying to stay sane herself. The 11x11 room is the only world he's ever known. To mom, the 11x11 room is a horrible place. A cell. To Jack, it is home. The only home he knows. Security, love, happiness, his life.
Of course, the book takes a turn, I don't want to ruin it, but more characters are introduced and the book extends beyond the 11x11 room. The author brings the story to a powerful ending that to me is the correct ending that leaves me pleased. You will not want to put it down.
Know that when you read this novel, by the end, you will have your own thoughts about the world we live in. To me, it was a very memorable novel presenting questions about real love, true love, what love really is.
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Mar 04, 2011 Kewannah rated it liked it

It's so hard to follow this book when Jack is so stilted. His grammar is alternately impeccable and awful.

More than that though is his family's reaction to him in part 2. While I wanted to know what happened next, it was more out of curiosity than because I thought it was a gripping read. ...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Bj Thomas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a "can't put it down" book. The story of Jack and his Ma told from the viewpoint of Jack is riviting and well told by the author. ...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Emily rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Brilliant, brilliant, and brilliant again. You must read this book.

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Feb 08, 2015 Danielle rated it liked it

3.5 stars.

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Nov 28, 2010 Marie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A comment on the back cover said that it's a book to read in one sitting. Very true! I didn't want to put the book down. Cleverly written in the voice of a 5 year old. Great book! ...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Tracy rated it really liked it

I loved this book and found it amazing and also very perceptive - raises some great theoretical questions about how you would handle the situation.
Read by full www.ourbookclub.net.au book review at Room
...more

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