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Loading... Room: A Novel (original 2010; edition 2010)by Emma Donoghue (Author)
Work InformationRoom by Emma Donoghue (2010)
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This is a wonderful book. For the people who rated it down because she "stole" the plot (a silly notion when most book ideas come from outside the writer's head) here is what the author had to say: http://www.bookpage.com/books-10013638-Room and http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/13/emma-donoghue-room-josef-frit... An unsettling, moving book. It's told in the voice of 5 year old Jack, who lives with his mum in a locked room, 11' x 11'. He's never seen another human being: and his mum, besides Jack, has only seen her captor, who keeps her imprisoned for sex, in seven years. The book describes their day-to-day life with convincing immediacy. It tells how they escape, and how this sudden emergence into the ordinary world brings with it huge difficulties in adjustment. Ma has not lived freely since she was kidnapped aged 19. Jack didn't know there was a world outside to discover, despite his exposure to television. It's tough. Very tough. This is a moving, convincing and utimately uplifting account of an almost unimagineable life. Well worth reading. Excellent read, told from the point of view of a five year old that's spent his whole life in captivity with his 26 year old mother. The story itself was very sad, but there were also several things about the story that bugged me and kept me from giving a five star rating: 1.) We never get to know Ma's real name. I think finding out her real name would've let us "know" her character more. 2.) We never find out why "Old Nick" takes Ma in the first place, only that he kidnapped her when she was nineteen. A little bit more backstory about that would've been interesting. 3.) Having some of the story told from Ma's point of view would have been interesting, too. 4.) The constant breastfeeding was annoying. "Having some" every other page got old. We got the point after the first few times: he was five and still breastfed. It was their thing. Same thing with Tooth. We got it. Tooth was kind of gross. All in all though, it was a good, quick read.
Room is disturbing, thrilling, and emotionally compelling. Emma Donoghue has produced a novel that is sure to stay in the minds of readers for years to come. This is a truly memorable novel, one that can be read through myriad lenses — psychological, sociological, political. It presents an utterly unique way to talk about love, all the while giving us a fresh, expansive eye on the world in which we live. the book’s second half is less effective than its first. Perhaps this is inevitable given the changed circumstances of the protagonists. The walls that enclosed them also intensified their drama. Wrenching, as befits the grim subject matter, but also tender, touching and at times unexpectedly funny. Donoghue's great strength -- apart from her storytelling gift -- is her emotional intelligence. We get just enough information to feel uncomfortable -- and therefore, to question our assumptions about how family life ought to be; and to know that life will always be an unequal struggle. Belongs to Publisher SeriesPiper (30981) Has the adaptationAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Narrator Jack and his mother, who was kidnapped seven years earlier when she was a 19-year-old college student, celebrate his fifth birthday. They live in a tiny, 11-foot-square soundproofed cell in a converted shed in the kidnapper's yard. The sociopath, whom Jack has dubbed Old Nick, visits at night, grudgingly doling out food and supplies. But Ma, as Jack calls her, proves to be resilient and resourceful--and attempts a nail-biting escape. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Narrated in the haunting voice of five year old Jack, [b:Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1282778933s/7937843.jpg|9585076] is the story of a mother and her son held captive in an 11'x11' shed. Jack was born in Room two years after his mother's abduction, and believes everything on the outside to be pretend. Surrounded by his friends (Table, Bed, Rug, Remote... all proper nouns), Jack lives day after day while his Ma does all she can to keep him safe and healthy. She creates games and routines, including phys ed and schooling, and she keeps Jack hidden from the eyes of his biological father, the captor who has created this hell.
But the thing that is so amazing, so astounding, is that it's not really hell at all to Jack; it's home, it's Room. The tale is both horrific and tender, both touching and terrifying. Jack's story is dark and disturbing, but Jack's voice is innocent and endearing. The poignancy of his understanding is simply heart-breaking. Donogue's writing is spectacular; I am amazed by her ability to create something that is so many adjectives at once, and yet they are all at odds with each other.
I will not soon forget this story, and I suspect I will carry Jack with me for a long while. I usually pass on my books after I've read them. But I will look forward to rereading this again someday. I think this one is a keeper. ( )