Publisher: Picador
ISBN No.: 978-0330519021
From the moment you begin reading this book you want, need even to find out what will happen to Jack and his Mum in the 11ft x 11ft they call Room that has a skylight and locked door.
Jack has just had his 5th birthday, and he only his Mum and him and the things in Room are real, until his Mum tells him that there is a world outside.
The beginning of the novel and hearing Jack describe his world catches the suffocating and oppressive atmosphere of Room. More than once I had to put the book down because of this. But Donoghue manages to grab the reader with the suspense of their planned escape and captures beautifully the difficult transition from captivity to ‘freedom’.
At times I wondered how on earth a 5 year-old boy could use the language so intelligently in the novel, but as is pointed out, he’s only had his mother’s adult company who has taught him from a young age and whilst this could have been tricky, doing so from such an innocent point of view is cleverly pulled off. It’s the snippets of the adult conversations that he interprets that highlights the attitudes and prejudices that they both experience from various characters brought into the story that make it particularly heart-breaking for a young boy who has no comprehension of his past or what his future will bring.
This is one of those books that will stay with you for a very, very long time!
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