Room {Emma Donoghue}

Synopsis From Goodreads:

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world….

Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience – and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

I read this book 4 years ago and still think of it OFTEN.  It is one of the most powerful and thought provoking books I have ever read.  Admittingly the writing style took a bit to get used to as it’s told from the point of view of a 5 year old boy. However, eventually the style somehow disappeared and the story itself spoke louder than the way it was being told. Everything about this story and these characters completely captivated me and continues to do so years later. Reading this as a mother spoke directly to my heart.  I do not have the words to describe the vivid picture this book painted for me.  It was dark and often disturbing…yet beautiful in many ways.  There was one scene in this book which I truly believe to be the most powerful scene of any book I have ever read (see comment section for the specific spoiler).  This is also one of the very few times that I feel the movie actually lived up to the book!  The movie told the story so well, changing parts yet keeping many the same as the book.  Both the book and the movie told this complicated story in such a way that years later it still remains both in my head and in my heart.

Bottom Line:

Everyone needs to read this.  Today.  And take the story with you in your heart when you are finished.

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