Room question

I got about half way through to the part where he is trying to escape and I could barely breath. I felt like I was there with him, and I wanted him to get out so so bad, and it just looked like anything could go wrong at any time. I was on break at work, and came back 5 min. late just to get to the end of the scene (and I am never late!). I'm 28 now, but I hadn't had that feeling of actually being physically worried or scared about a character or a scene since I was a little kid!

First thing that came to mind was the egg snake. To me it is a symbol of the magical world that was created in Room by him and Ma. Ordinary things, things we would throw away were a special part of his playground. The simplicity and yet how sad that is... to me such a powerful visual representation of his childhood.

Jack counting the squeaks of the bed when Nick was on top of her. Raping. 200, 201, 202, etc. Do I have to say why?

spider.

I work with Children, and I have one boy in my class who was also deprived of a 'normal' life. Basically lived in three rooms for the first four years.
And the whole Time I read 'Room', I was trying so hard NOT to associate my boy with Jack because that would kill me.
When Jack's mom comes back, and he stops just before he hugs her because he has paint on his hands. That is what finally got me, because my little boy had done something similar like that the week before I got to that point, so all I could see was him now.

Cried. Cried and cried and cried for a while there. Scared my Dad.

The press conference, when they begin asking her why she didn't give up Jack, and how trapped she must have felt then.

I read this book a while ago, and the thing that has stayed with me is the stain on the floor, from the still birth Jack's Mum had before he was born. To see it through a child's eyes, not really knowing what it was, but having some sort of an understanding that he survived, while his older sibling didn't, was very haunting. And for his Mother to have to see evidence every day of her miscarried child, just added to the heartbreak the reader feels for the poor young woman who had had to endure so much already. Fantastic book.

Tbh, the part that hit me how awful their situation was when she had to move around to cover up the worn tiles from their exercise. I suppose everything else seemed so alien and extreme that I coped with reading it by distancing myself from the plot, but the worn tiles were so ordinary, something I could imagine, it suddenly struck me how trapped, isolated and terrifyingly long term their position was.

Funny how the mind works, huh.

When they were "exercising" in the room by walking around in a circle... it was very sad and told the story about how Ma wanted to create some kind of normalcy the best she could.

Ma attempting suicide, Ma and Grandma going all scratchy when they talk, Jack not thinking or using The. Jack wanting some.

Out of the whole book which I thought was amazing it was the bit where they argue because jack wants to keep the things from room after they have escaped , I felt so strongly for both characters that I was totally pulled I could understand why ma wanted them burnt but for him they were home it was so tragic

The thing that stuck with me the most was Jack talking to Ma in his head while he was trying to escape. I listened to the audio book and the tiny voice desperately saying "Ma! Ma!" because he was so scared when he thought he'd messed up the plan to jump out of the truck.

Also, when Old Nick grabs Jack when they're outside and Jack remembers that Ma told him he was allowed to kill Old Nick. Jack says he's trying to kill him, but he can't. He's kicking and clawing, but he can't kill him. As a mother of a child that same age, it took my breath away to imagine how helpless he felt.

It was when he was running away from the truck and there was no one around and he was running about in a strange world to him. I felt his fear and confusion.

As someone else said, the way that Jack has to adjust so completely to life outside Room was just fascinating - the whole inability to understand space and distance, to get used to shoes, even being exposed to sunshine - that has really stayed with me. During the escape scene I was practically crying I was so drawn into it though. An amazing book.

Definitely Jack sucking on his mother's tooth, it will definitely stick to your mind.

The thing that stick in my mind is dead Jack. I think I held my breath until he handed the note over.

This might be a cop out answer. But I think this entire book made a big and lasting impression on me. I mean I know the story of kidnappings and rape are nothing new. But the perspective of it from a child born from such a situation. And was so innocent at the same time. So my heart truly went out to him reading this story and will definitely make me look at kids that have probably came from such situations in a whole new light.

I haven't finished the book yet but amazed what an incredible audio book it is. The characters all have different voices and the actor who plays Jack is wonderful. I am at the point where Jack has left the hospital and Jack is bonding with his grandmother very well.

For me the time when Ma starts telling Jack the truth of their situation was the part that I was shocked with the most. She does this knowing that for jack it is a point of no return and I find her decision to be very brave. I think it took a lot of effort for her to keep this to herself for so many years and to raise jack in this adverse environment making him believe that it was normal. Because of his believe that there is nothing outside of this room the entire book leading up to this moment is very sweet as you see everything they do as fun and exciting.

Once jack begins to find the truth and learns of the plan to escape his whole perspective is changed and there is a big pressure on him to assist in the escape and he begins to see things in a totally different angle. For me after this part I started seeing all of the items in their house for what they truly were. I felt so sick and desperate for them to get out of this room as all of the items which were characters in the book and seemed beautiful parts of their entire day were now old and depressing.

I felt so bad for Ma when she begins to see that Jack is beginning to loose his calm. The part when he sees the mouse and the ants is so powerful because of how hard it must have been for Ma to deal with the inability to satisfy her son's needs. The part when he starts talking about a dog had me breathing heavily and almost in tears.

I am surprised that no-one here has mentioned the time when Old Nick turned off their power. They were so utterly dependant on their abuser.

What intrigued me, but at the same time sickened me, was the fact that after they were free, Jack couldn't believe all the people and the trees, etc etc. Things we take for granted everyday, but things Jack has never in his five years of life has ever known to exist. I also belive that Ma, while in the hospital, is able to think of herself and that the reality of what happened to her over these past years, has affected her in ways we could never begin to comprehend.

Ma going back to Room with Jack. I felt so bad for her. For her loss of 7 years, her rights, her freedom, her body and people. I can not imagine going back and she did it for Jack. I was touched by that.

Also Jack losing the only world he knew. I know it is better for him to be outside of Room, but I can only imagine how lost and afraid he must be. How he now has to share Ma and how that must be confusing and hurtful.

This may sound mundane, but beep beep always made me take a deep breath. I was extremely terrified of Old Nick. I feel Emma Donoghue didn't delve too much into his character on purpose. The mystery of not knowing exactly how psychotic this man was, had me nervous every time he walked through that door.

"Beep beep. That's Door. I listen very hard. In comes the cold air." - Jack, Page 47

Jack wasn't familiar with Outside and I think the whole "cold air" line is symbolic of Old Nick, and how unfamiliar and cold he could be.

The first two parts of the book, Presents and Unlying, were the most intense for me, and it was definitely because of that dreaded beep beep sound.

The fact that Jack would stay in wardrobe while Old Nick would come to rape his mother was the part of the book that stayed with me. It was heart wrenching when I realized what Jack was describing and that he didn't know what was happening. His mother was a strong woman to let this happen for 5 years while Jack listened and still try to shelter him from Old Nick and the abuse.

The idea of Jack's world being entirely in that room sticks with me. When he gets out, he needs to adjust to what is real and things like depth perception, spatial understandings, etc. It was almost like he was blind, in a way, for his first 5 years of life.

The thing that will always stick with me from this book is that little patch of sky they could see from inside Room as well as Ma's detailed description of how securely they are trapped inside. It gave me such a visual picture that these two are REALLY stuck in there. :(

Also, it didn't dawn on me until later that Jack had never literally seen another child in the flesh, that was mind blowing.

I found that the events that happen AFTER Jack and Ma leave Room are the ones that resonate most with me, particularly the visual of Jack learning to go up and down stairs in the hospital.

When they are still in Room, there is a somewhat limited scope of what Jack can and can't do or understand due to his confinement. Once they are in the "real world" it becomes apparent that Jack had spent his entire life without such commonplace knowledge as how to use stairs. I found it absolutely heart wrenching.

Jilllian wrote: "I think the thing that will stick with me the longest is the image of Jack sucking on his mother's tooth. I can't begin to imagine what must have been going through his little mind and how much he..."

That part was just too disgusting for me!

How the mother growled when Old Nick came near the wardrobe! She would endure the abuse, but wouldn't let him lay an eye on Jack, WOW!

I found it hard to read the book because of the language. However, I can't imagine being in a closet while listening to your parent being abused. I know he didn't know it at the time, but the residual effects of that will surface eventually, I'm sure!