"Room" Book Review

Ladina Brunner

“Room”

Emma Donoghue

Fiction, thriller

“Room”, by Emma Donoghue is a dramatic fiction told from a five year old's point of view named Jack. When Jack's mother was 19 she was kidnapped and held captive in an eleven by eleven foot garden shed somewhere in the United States. Jack was born and raised in this shed which he calls Room, he has no concept of the outside world. It is Jacks mother's dream to escape from the confinement of Room, but Jack is terrifies by the real world. Reading the book allows you to follow Jack's everyday life and fully understand the way he thinks.

Personally, I had a love-hate relationship with the novel. I prefer books where there is a lot of action, which is why it was hard for me to say interested in “Room”. A lot of the book is a description of Jack and his mother's daily life in Room, which became repetitive and uninteresting at times. However, you become attached to the characters so when there is action during the novel, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The fact that the book is written from a five year old's point of view makes it hard to understand at times; although this is inconvenient it also forces you to really think about the meaning behind the text. Overall, I Would say I enjoyed the book, but I also would have appreciated more action.

I recommend this novel to people who enjoy dramatic books. You have to be very attentive throughout the whole novel because there are a lot of underlying meanings that are mostly said by Jacks mother. I would say you have to be mature to understand the ideas and concepts in “Room”. I suggest reading this book when you have free time and are in a asituation where you can properly focus.