Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Book: Room - Emma Donoghue

Publication Date: September 13th 2010

Read from September 13 to 20, 2011

Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Drama

In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time.


My Review:

I remember reading the synopsis of Room back in 2010 on goodreads and i was utterly intrigued and I knew I had to read this book. Room is a story of a nineteen year old girl which was kidnapped and held captive for seven year and in those years she gives birth to her son Jack. Pretty basic right? But here comes the twist. The book is narrated from the point of view of Jack the son not the mother.

How can a adult book with such a horrifying topic be written from a 5 year old point of view?

Well that's where the brilliance of the author Emma Donoghue comes in. The book is very different and it's nothing like anything I have ever read. The narrative is so unique and fresh that I got hooked very early in the book.

Another brilliant thing about the book is that it does not limit itself with horrors of captivity and it touches upon what happens after escape. The stark reality of going back to the big bad world.


The Good:

• The narrative and it's uniqueness is the selling point of this book. 
• On several occasions in the first half of the book I found my heart racing and I just couldn't put the book down. 
• The atmospheric feel of the book is so haunting.
• Jack and his innocence and the pain his mother feels for him is very emotional. 

The Bad:

• As the narrative is unique it was difficult to follow the book for the first few chapters. It gets easier and you get the hang of it but still it might be annoying for some.
• The book is not plot driven at all.
• The second half of the book is not as fast paced as the first. 

Overall: 4 and a thumbs up!

Writing: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Romance: N/A
Cover: 4/5

Favorite Quote: “When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything”.

Favorite Character: Jack