Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Publisher: Harper Collins

Genre: Literary Fiction

Source: Christmas Present from my Mom

Review

To five year old Jack there is no place but Room, no people but his Ma and Old Nick, who only comes at night. He has never been outside its four walls and has no idea how big the world out there really is. To Ma, however, Room is four walls that have held her captive since Old Nick abducted her off the street seven years ago. Despite her own suffering she does what she can to make a life for Jack in the tiny space and does whatever she can to keep him safe. But she can't help but dream and plan of escape and a better life for both of them.

Told from Jack's five year old perspective Room is an incredibly gripping and moving read. The horror of the situation may be lost on Jack but it is disturbingly clear to the reader. You can not help but feel for Jack and Ma as they live out days under Old Nick's lock and key and you find yourself on the edge of your seat, rooting for them as the urgency and danger of their situation grows. Since it's told from Jack's perspective it is written the way a five year old would talk. This is a little hard to get into at first but it grows on you as you keep reading and I think it really adds to the story and is a refreshing change from what you normally see.

Room is creative, dark, funny and inspring. As Jack grows and learns the reader grows with him. This is a great piece of writing from Emma Donoghue and you`ll find yourself thinking about it long after you've finished reading. I would recommend this is anyone who is looking for something different. It may not be what you're used to but if you're anything like me it'll blow you away.

About the Author

Emma is the youngest of eight children of Frances and Denis Donoghue. She attended Catholic convent schools in Dublin, apart from one year in New York at the age of ten. In 1990 she earned a first-class honours BA in English and French from University College Dublin, and in 1997 a PhD (on the concept of friendship between men and women in eighteenth-century English fiction) from the University of Cambridge. Since the age of 23, Donoghue has earned her living as a full-time writer. After years of commuting between England, Ireland, and Canada, in 1998 she settled in London, Ontario, where she lives with her partner and their son and daughter.

Favourite Quotes

"I think about Old Nick carrying me into the truck, I'm dizzy like I'm going to fall down. "Scared is what you're feeling," says Ma, "but brave is what you're doing." "Huh?" "Scaredybrave." "Scave." Word sandwiches always make her laugh but I wasn't being funny."

Rating

4/5

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