Room by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well I had high hopes for this, but for the first few minutes I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it. Because it’s written from the point of view of Jack, a 5 year old boy, it’s written in unfinished phrases and baby talk which grated on me for a while. However, it didn’t take long for me to warm to the characters Jack and Ma, and pretty soon the baby talk just felt natural.
The plot here shouldn’t be enjoyable – a young woman abducted, locked in a room, regularly beaten and raped who bears a child and brings him up in captivity – but there’s actually a hugely positive feeling to Room, which is much more about love and relationships than the horror of the situation. In writing from Jack’s perspective much of the horror is unspoken or merely hinted at – which in fact is more effective than if it were detailed in black and white.
Overall, I really enjoyed Room. I loved the relationship between Ma and Jack, and actually felt quite jealous of her unending patience and imagination!
