What they say about it:
ROOM is narrated by a five-year-old called Jack, who lives in a single room with his Ma and has never been outside. An international bestseller as soon as it was published in August 2010, ROOM was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Jack and Ma live in a locked room that measures eleven foot by eleven. When he turns five, he starts to ask questions, and his mother reveals to him that there is a world outside. Told entirely in Jack’s voice, ROOM is no horror story or tear-jerker, but a celebration of resilience and the love between parent and child.
What I thought:
I don’t know why but I instantly expected to like this but I found it hard going at first. There was a lot of time spent in ROOM just describing day-to-day life and I started to find it a bit samey.
Then, things started to happen. Jack discovered about the real world and the escape plan was hatched. From there on in I was gripped. It was very well written and you really felt for Jack and his Ma. The insensitivity of the news reporter when she is interviewed after escaping is probably fairly accurate given the media today.
I would have liked the book to go on for longer. I could have read about Jack’s exploits in air for ages.
Would love to know what other people thought.
Available in Lewisham Libraries
Helen Hilton
Filed under: Book review, Children, Crime, Gay/Lesbian, Women Tagged: | Emma Donoghue
