Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is one of those rare reads that not only lives up to expectations but exceeded them.  This book was just so utterly compelling and fascinating that I read it in one day more or less.  I had initially been interested in the book when it came out, but after the hype and having read a few good reviews, I was nervous of reading it, in case it didn’t live up to the hype.  The first few pages of the book were difficult to get into but it didn’t take long before I was drawn into the story.

The story itself is, sadly, a familiar one, played out in the news and media, especially recently with events in Austria with the Fritzl case and in America with the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard.  It’s also not a new story in terms of publishing, with Flowers in the Attic still selling strongly today.  However what is new is that this story is told through the eyes of Jack, who at the start of the book is five years old.  He was born in Room and the book and the events are told purely through his eyes and through his comprehension of his world. 

The book is interesting on so many levels; it makes for a thoughtful read.  On the one hand the book focuses on the world seen through a small boy’s eyes and makes you realise just how much of “normal” life, we take for granted.  Things which we do, say or see and assume are part of our world are missing or different in Jack’s life.  The whole thing is fascinating to see played out.  The relationship between Jack and his Ma, claustrophobic and yet essential to the novel is another part of the book that is hard to escape.  They are the only two people in Room and Jack and his Ma are inseparable and rely solely on each other.

The language of the book mirrors that of a small child, and whilst it takes a little while to get used to (for me anyway as I don’t know many children of that age and how they speak) it helps to keep Jack alive in your imagination.

I found it interesting to hear different people’s perspectives on the book.  I found Jack’s world a wonderful place, and I looked at how he viewed things very differently sometimes to his mum, and how that was portrayed in the novel.  My mum found the interaction between Jack and his Ma interesting and said she enjoyed the details of their day to day life together amazing. 

The book is tinged with sadness, and as an adult reading the book, it’s easy to see the sadness in the mother and her life and yet J sees things very differently.  The events that unfold and the conclusion of the book are both upsetting and positive at the same time.  It is a book that I find hard to escape from even now.  Whilst reading the book I was in Room, and after reading the book, it’s hard for me to escape it.  It’s chilling, and yet one of the best books I have read in a long time.  Definitely worth a read.