ROOM by Emma Donoghue
by Jenners • 11/15/2010 • 4.5 Stars, D Authors, Fiction, Gothic/Horror, Literary, R Titles • 87 Comments
ROOM by Emma Donaghue Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition edition (September 13, 2010)
Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction
My Rating: 4.5 stars (Make Time For This One)
I’m sure that somewhere in your home you have a room that measures about 10×10 or 11×11. I want you to imagine this room. Now take out all the windows (but you can have one little skylight). Put a locked door on it that cannot be open from the inside. Soundproof it. Strip it down to only the bare essentials: a bed, a hotplate, a wardrobe, a table, two chairs, a rug, a bath, a rocker. You can a TV, a few books, a few games. Get comfy. You’re going to be spending quite a bit of time here. About seven years in fact.
The first few years you’ll be alone except for some nightly visits from the person who has put you in this room. (Let’s call him Old Nick.) Eventually these nightly visits will result in the birth of a child. Your child. Let’s call him Jack. Let’s call you Ma. You now have a baby in a windowless locked room. You have to raise this child by yourself, while protecting him, as much as possible, from Old Nick. How would you do it? How would you keep yourself from going insane? How would you provide Jack with as “normal” a life as possible, considering that the only world he has ever known is this room? And, what do you think would happen if someday, someday, you managed to get out of the room?
I believe Emma Donoghue must have went through a thought process like the one I posed to you above, and the results can be found in her brilliantly disturbing yet heartbreakingly beautiful novel ROOM. And, in a genius twist, Donoghue chose to write the novel from the point-of-view of Jack—and this makes all the difference.
By writing from 5-year-old Jack’s point-of-view, we are spared the unbearable horror of Ma’s experience. Instead of being a torture chamber, Room becomes not such a bad place after all. Oh sure, the things Outside that Jack sees on TV seem kind of cool, but they are just pretend. (After all, in Room Jack doesn’t feel wind or see clouds or dogs or other children or animals or dirt.) But Room has plenty to keep Jack busy—from Egg Snake under the bed to Phys Ed time to a seemingly endless variation of word games that Ma has invented. And there is Sundaytreat, which might sometimes even result in chocolate! And most of all, there is Ma. What child doesn’t want a mother who is always present, attentive and creative? In Jack’s view, Room is a cozy little world of two. Of course, Ma is Gone sometimes, but she always comes back eventually. And yes, Old Nick makes those nightly visits and all kinds of weird creaking sounds, but Jack just hides in the wardrobe. (Ma doesn’t like Old Nick to see Jack.)
Room is Jack’s whole world. It is all he’s ever known, and he doesn’t really need anything else. So when Ma suddenly starts “Unlying” and talking about Outside and how they might get there, you can imagine that Jack might not be all that excited. It is a lot for a 5-year-old to take in. It is like someone told you were going to go live on the moon, away from everyone who loves you. Could you go? What would happen if you made it? What would happen to your world?
I cannot even tell you how brilliant and engrossing this book is and how riveted I was by Jack’s world and, behind it, the darker shadow world that Ma lived in. In some ways, ROOM reminded of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go—in that the protagonists live an almost dream-like existence in a nightmare world, protected and sheltered from the reality of their situation by their innocence and ignorance. Although we see Jack’s story unfold in the book, within it and behind it we come to know Ma’s story too, which is as horrific and nightmarish as anything I can imagine. Yet by not telling the story from Ma’s point of view, Donoghue elevates ROOM to something magical and special and amazing. Yes, this book will disturb you, but it will also uplift you and show you how good can grow from evil, that love can save you, and that what is broken can be put back together again. Read it.
The Whys and Wheres: I bought this book with my birthday gift certificate after reading about it everywhere. It sounded so intriguing, I just had to read it.
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I bought ROOM today…I read ROOM today.
I am sure I will be thinking about Jack and Ma a long time. Riveting. Haunting. Lovely.
I know … it was an amazing book wasn’t it? Obviously you coudn’t put it down … I felt the same way.
Another rave review. How many does this book need?!
It deserves all the raves it gets!
I keep hearing about this book. I think your review made me decide to check it out.
I’m glad I helped “push” you over the edge. It was such a unique and fascinating book. I look forward to seeing what you think of it.
Great review, Jenners! I think you did a wonderful job of capturing just how moving the experience of this book is.
Thanks. It was such an unusual book that I wanted to do a review the helped to convey that.
I have this one my to-read list, but I’ve read mixed reviews on it… I’m glad you were such a fan. It’s made me excited to dive into it — as soon as I finish the other 78 billion books that are ahead of it on my list. I should probably stop spending so much time on Amazon.
Oh pish posh. you can NEVER have too many books waiting to be read (though 78 billion IS quite a few). I thought it was so interesting and different and worth the time.
I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this one so mucI have it on my shelves and am really looking forward to reading it!! Such an interesting premise….great review by the way!
I hope you like it as much as I did. It was one of the most unique books I’ve read in quite some time.
Wow, i’m glad you enjoyed this. It’s been pulling me in but has been turning me away due to the creepy factor. I’m a mom. I have a little son. I’ve been sure it will give me nightmares. This isn’t the first great review, though, so I’ll have to brave the Creepy and check it out…;O)
For me, what saves it, is seeing it through Jack’s eyes. And it was a also a reminder for me that I — who live in infinitely better circumstances — could be a more creative and patient mother.
Brilliant review! I had almost forgotten about egg snake. I loved this book so very much and thought that Ma’s patience with Jack was incredible. I would have probably gone crazy locked into a tiny space with a 5 year old, but Ma is always very patient with him. I thought that the second half was just as riveting as the first half, and it was so interesting to me to see how Jack dealt with the outside world. I didn’t like the uncle or aunt very much though, they seemed oddly unsympathetic.
I think Ma was the most amazing mother ever. I don’t know if I could have been as patient or creative. And it was fascinating to see how things went in the second part … and how about her Dad’s reaction???!!???
Just wondering if you got my email about giveaways? Sometimes I get stuck in the spam folder so I wanted to make sure you got it
I did get it … I just didn’t write back to reply yet! Thanks for the info … I’m going to look into it.
The fantastic Heather from Raging Bibliomania sent me her copy of this, and I cannot wait to read it!!
You are one lucky blogger (and Heather is sooooo generous). : )
wow, this sounds both disturbing and intriguing. I am picking this one up next time i’m add the bookstore. Great review.
It is disturbing and intriguing … in the best of ways.
I’ve been debating whether to pick this up for a couple of months now. I’ll probably read it some time early next year (my TBR list is *insane* right now!).
I vote for picking it up … and I think we can all relate to crazy TBR lists!
i’ve read several reviews of this now and what strikes me is the widely different opinions/reactions people have to the mother. It has been quite a while since i have heard such varying opinions. On my wish list, I hope to be adding my own views sometime soon.
I’ve been surprised by some reactions people have had about Ma. To me, she was nothing short of heroic and genius. I look forward to finding out what your thoughts are … it is a fascinating book and one that just cries out for discussion and opinions.
Hi Jenners
I have read it recently too and to be honest it did not entirely work for me. I found Jack’s voice a bit tedious. I know, what does this say about me as a person?
But as ever, your review is exceptional, and wonderfully captures not only the heart of the book but gives good perspective to the choices made by the author. Thanks Mel
I’m sure you’re not alone in your feelings. He is a child and children can be nothing if not tedious!!! : )
As I’ve already told you I kept seeing this book at the store and kept picking it up and thinking about it – finally I bought it and devoured it and since my daughter has also read it. Such a great book! Just this weekend we found a signed copy on ebay and it’s on its way to my house now. :0)
We almost had a little read-along together didn’t we? How neat that you found a signed copy. Part of me thinks it should be signed by Jack.
I’ve heard so many wonderful things about this book. I’m definitely putting it on my list! In fact, didn’t it win the Booker Prize recently – or the Orange Prize? (Can’t quite remember…)
It was short-listed for the Booker Prize but it didn’t win (though many people thought it should have). As far as the Orange Prize, I don’t know. All I know is that it should get some kind of prize!!
It sounds great, but I think it would make my skin crawl. I don’t know if I can read this one. Excellent review though. I really liked Slammerkin and would love to read more of her work.
I very much want to check out Slammerkin. I’ve heard good things about it but never got around to it.
This book is disturbing but yet I came away with a good feeling too. It is fascinating to me how she presented such a horrible story.
I have read so many reviews of Room, and yet yours really stands out. Starting the way you did, by putting us in Ma’s shoes–very effective. I MUST read this book! And soon!
Unrelated…I love your new sidebar slide-y things! Are those new, or have I been totally out of it the last few times I’ve visited your site?? They’re so cool!
Those sidebar things are new … I was fooling around with my blog yesterday. I think they are a great way of putting a lot of information up there but without cluttering things up. I am ALWAYS tinkering with my blog and still discovering new things that I can do with my template, WordPress and all these cool plug-ins.
Brilliant review, Jenners. I loved your introduction and am very glad you loved the book.
Thanks so much. It was a book that needed a special kind of review I think and I hope I did it proud.
I’ll definitely have to check this one out – and make time for it.
It is so worth it (and is a quick read.)
your review was riveting.
Thanks … the book is riveting too. Sometimes the book just “writes” its own review … and this was one of them.
You write excellent reviews. I liked this one too but those first 50 pages almost did me in. Tough to get use to that writing style.
It was an adjustment getting used to Jack’s voice and getting oriented to his world. It was one of the things I most curious about going in … how would she pull this off?
I only skimmed the review since I one day hope to actually read this one…perhaps the upcoming vacation. Then again, is this really a vacation read?
It is and it isn’t a vacation read. It depends on just how light you want your vacation reading to be! But it certainly isn’t a difficult read from a reading point of view … just emotionally.
This one has been on my TBR list for a while. I’m waiting on it from the library. (I’ll refrain from making my typical debt diet remarks.)
It is worth the wait. Here’s hoping some people drop off the hold list in front of you!
I could see myself getting caught up in this book. I like how you describe the mother still trying to give her son a childhood even in these unnatural conditions. My heart would probably ache while reading this one. I have to go get it.
Your heart will ache … but you’ll also be amazed at how resourceful Ma is and what she manages to give Jack despite all odds against her.
interesting. It reminds me a bit of “a boy called it”, though not entirely.
I’ve seen those books around but didn’t know what they were about.
We both liked this book very much and considered it one of our best reads of the year! Here’s a link to our review if interested: http://ourstack.blogspot.com/2010/10/room-by-emma-donoghue-is-must-read-for.html
Oh I am interested. I love reading reviews of books I read. You always find something neat that the other reviewer picked up on or mentioned. I’ll pop over later when I have more time. Thanks for the link.
I have this on audio as well, and I’m saving it for the new year, since my challenges are so behind. And my new years resolution is to read more books via audio, that sound weird but… I’m afraid I’ll get too visually impaired to read, and I won’t be able to learn to listen.
I’m so curious about this as an audiobook. It would be a fascinating listen I’m sure. I’ve really enjoying my foray into audio.
Fabulous review! You really captured the feel of the book.
Thank you … this meant a lot to me as I kind of respect you and all that.
Your review makes it easier to imagine the circumstances involved with living in a tiny room. It is hard to imagine!
Very hard to imagine. When I was putting myself through this little exercise, I was like WOAH.
It has taken everything in me not to rush out to the store and purchase this book. I know it is going to be sooo incredibly awesome that I’ll want my own copy. Still, there are plenty of books that I’d like to get through before 2011 makes her way into my life and I know if Room is sitting on my night table, I’ll end up pulling an all-nighter.
I admire your restraint. I could not wait … but it will be just as good in 2011 and it is in 2010.
Oh, wow! This sounds interesting. Disturbing, but interesting. Thanks to you and a few other bloggers I already have more books on my list than I’ll ever be able to read, but this one might have to go there, too.
Yes … you need to make room for ROOM! HAHA! : )
Can;t wait to read this, I only hear great reviews. I especially want to see how the author deals with writing from the perspective of a five year old. I imagine that this would be difficult, particualrly to make it sound authentic
That was what I was most curious about as well. She handled it really well. It was a tricky balancing act I think.
Great review. I’ve just finished reading Room too and it really is something special.
Isn’t it? I was blown away.
You completely freaked me out with that opening. I was totally trying to envision that space and what it would feel like. I MUST stop procrastinating and just read it.
Yes … get to it already. You’ll feel the Room come alive for you in the book, for sure.
Stunning review Jenners. I have this book and might (if I am in the mood for it) bring it with me to Hawaii for the airplane ride.
It is one of those books that might not quite be good vacation reading … but it is good reading.
This review is the first I’ve seen of this book, and it sounds fantastic. What an interesting premise and interesting that it’s told from the boy’s perspective! I’ll have to read it.
I can’t believe mine is the first review you’ve seen of this book … I’ve was bombarded by reviews of it everywhere I looked. It is an amazing book.
I’m really looking forward to this one but it’ll probably be a year before i get to it.
I’m sure it will be just as good then! : )
What a great review! I have an ARC of this book and your review reminds me that I need to really move it up on my list.
Move it up … it is an amazing and unique book. You’re luck to have gotten an ARC.
Great review of a great book! I was so disappointed when it didn’t win the Man Booker Prize.
I think it would have been well deserved.
I’m still not decided on this one. I don’t generally read books with this kind of plot, but I’ve heard great things about it from everyone.
It really is an amazing book … I think you ought to try it even though the subject matter is difficult. She has such a unique approach.
I will have to check this out!!
You should! It is amazing.
Glad you liked this one. I just popped the first disc of the audo book into my player. I was immediately rivited by Jack’s voice.
I can’t really imagine this on audio. It would take a skilled narrator for sure!