“Room” Book Review

Before the second series of my Doctor Who Episode Reviews begins, I’m reviewing “Room”, a novel by Emma Donoghue.

Room is something I first heard about on BBC Breakfast, it must have been around the time of its release. It interested me, but it was the kind of book I felt too adult for me to read, and something I wouldn’t enjoy. I found it in the library, and it was the title that interested me the most. When reading about it, I remembered what it was and knew I’d have to give it a try. After all, I’d just finished a book about 1980s Zimbabwe and needed another reading ‘challenge’.

I read 200 pages of it the day I picked it up. For anyone who’s read the book, that means that really, the first half of it, the most important stuff, I read in one day. It was awesome. I then completed the book over the course of the next three days.

**SPOILERS BELOW** ++SPOILERS BELOW!++

The book itself is incredibly and a truly magnificent step in writing. It’s about a five year old locked in a room, a converted shed, with his mum, who he calls Ma. At 19 years of age, Ma (name not revealed) was kidnapped by a man who is called “Old Nick” by Jack *(the five year old). Seven years on, and Ma now has Jack, and lives in Room with him. Being from a child’s perspective, everything is written as if by a child, and everything is named. For example, bed is Bed and wardrobe is Wardrobe. In order to survive, Jack and his Ma follow a routine that lets them have a normal way of life. They wash, they cook, and at night Jack has to hide in Wardrobe – because at night Old Nick comes.

Jack hears a few of the conversations between Old Nick and Ma, and all of these are seen from a childish perspective. Nothing is explicitly said, and everything is purely implied. For example, Ma doesn’t give specific details about Old Nick and most of the time refers to him as “him”, and also Jack counts the “squeaks” of the bed at night time.

For a 5 year old, Jack knows an incredibly amount about the world around him. His world is Room: that is all he knows, and he believes everything else is on TV. This all changes when Ma tells Jack about the world outside, and Ma plots her escape… But while in Room, we see Jack’s world truly through his eyes. He has a wide vocabulary, manly down to the TV he watches, and certainly knows a lot about who he was delivered into the world.

Maybe this book doesn’t sound that appealing yet. A clever 5 year old and his Ma living in a locked shed in fear of the kidnapper? Their day to day life? But as much as this sounds clichéd, the book does give you a new look on life. It makes you consider things, it reminds you of things, and in some respects it teaches you things. The amount of effort that’s gone into this book is absolutely incredible! It truly is an amazing book, and it changes your perspective of the world, and even the way you think. I came away from reading 200 pages thinking like a 5 year old for a few hours. It changes your perceptions and your views, and it really does change your outlook on life.

++SPOILERS END++

But the book truly is an incredible step in literature. If people aren’t studying this book in years to come then there must be something wrong. You can get so much from this book, it’s such an eye opener, and it truly is a new perception on everything. I loved reading this book, and there’s a twist and turn around every corner. The most surprising twist to me was the end of “After”.

This book is well thought out, well researched, well written, well portrayed and well delivered. It is truly one of the best books I’ve ever read, because it is an eye opener and it teaches you new things, it changes your perception of the world. You get carried away in the world of Ma and Jack.

I’ve always though a “book you can’t put down” is a cliché. But it’s real. Room is a book you can’t put down. Read, and keep reading, because it’s an emotional journey you can’t let go of.

Room is fantastic. Buy it now!