Author: Emma Donoghue
Publisher: Picador
Rating: 4 and a half stars
"The world is always changing brightness and hotness and soundness, I never know how it's going to be the next minute."
Jack was just turned Five and just like any other boy; he likes watching TV, play games, and he loves his Ma very much. He lived in Room with her Ma, Duvet, Table, TV, Bath, and other furnitures and the only person ever he see in that room beside his Ma is Old Nick, an occasionally nighttime visitor. Never set foot outside Room, Jack believed Room is his whole universe and everything outside the room was in Outer World. Everything on TV was not real, but mouse and spider were real because he saw them. But one day her mother revealed the truth: there is world outside the Room and people just like them, thus start Jack's terrifying journey of entering the world for the first time.
This story will break your heart, but mend it back with the warmth of love. Now, I'm not usually say those kind of words, but that's exactly what I felt after I read this book. I can't even imagine the pain that 'Ma' was suffering for being captivated and abused for years by Old Nick. It's scary to think that there are plenty people like Old Nick out there, stalking girls or children as if they're a prize to win. But I was touched by how despite everything, 'Ma' tried to live and took a good care of her son, and also on how Jack constantly tried to understand the new world that confusing yet fascinated him.
It was written from Jack's point of view, which can be annoying sometimes because we could see the ego and selfishness of a five-year old boy. But even though it annoyed me, I still consider it brilliant because that exactly what five-year old boy would think. They think their mother (family) is the whole world, and they're selfish, but they also eager to learn about everything. The plot was a bit slow as the author spend several chapters to show Jack's and Ma's characters and also their daily life in Room. The story got more interesting after Jack managed to escape and saved his Ma. What went after that wasn't about the trial or crime but about how Jack was trying to adapt with everything that's new to him. Stairs, store, hammock, bees, and of course people.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading family drama, a bit of psychology, and basically people who like to read story with depth.
Lynossa
6 comments:
I've never heard of this one before, but it looks like one I should. I know a lot of people say the same thing, but I really mean it when I say Great review! It was fantastic.
*Read is supposed to be up there after should.
@Sarah, thank you :). Yes, you should read it, it's a bit slow for several chapters but it's worth it!
I do love anything to do with psychology, so this might be a good choice for me. I do already own it as well, so that should definitely get me reading lol. I have over 60 TBR books though, so it's hard to get around to things. Especially when you add in NetGalleys and ARCs. We'll see when I finally get around to it! Great review though.
-Sandra from http://sandrathenookworm.blogspot.com
I bought this book on one trip, but I have not read it yet. But I am going to. :) I am glad you like it. I hope it will be good. :)
Nikita
bookworm.nikita@gmail.com
Emma Donoghue's Room is a shockingly poignant tale of coping with the unimaginable...being abducted and held in captivity for years on end. Jack becomes Ma's reason for survival...the reason to get up each day and hope that she may find a way to escape. Donoghue's excruciating details of Room -- the cramped enclosure where Ma and Jack are kept -- lends a realism to a situation which I hope I, or anyone else, would never have to face. But somehow, above all, Ma creates a semblance of a life for her and her son Jack, one which not only provides a something-close-to-normal life for them both, but also give her hope that she may, at some point, escape her abductor's clutches.
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