Room by Emma Donoghue packs a wallop. I circled around the book for a bit, leery of the unpleasant subject matter, much as I'd felt about The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. After much approach/avoidance I finally settled down to read it and found there was nothing to be afraid of.
Jack, the narrator, is five years old. He lives in a room with his Ma. It is not large, 11 by 11 feet, lit by a skylight, with just a few pieces of furniture but this is the only world Jack knows. Old Nick is their only visitor and Jack remains hidden in the wardrobe when Nick is in the room.We learn that Jack's mother was kidnapped by Old Nick when she was a teenager and has been held captive in this room for seven years.
The premise is a sensational one that could easily go off the rails but it doesn't. Donoghue uses restraint and we are able to believe that this is how a mother and child might behave under such extraordinary circumstances. Jack is engaging, Ma is brave. She loves and nurtures Jack and provides him with intellectual and physical stimulation while waiting for the time when they can make their "Great Escape".
The book is at once funny, disturbing and hopeful and this young mother's ferocious love for her son is incredibly moving. I read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down.
1 comment:
I, too, had my doubts about reading Room precisely for the very same reasons: disturbing subject matter. I passed it up on one book buying session, only to pick it up later. In the stack of books, it was third in line to read. And it delighted me. I was always 'aware' of the horrific foundation the story was built on. But I fell in love with
Jack. Emma Donoghue created thoroughly believable characters and how they respond to their environment and circumstances. And like you, I couldn't put the novel down. It's on the 'to save' pile.
I also highly recommend Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. It still haunts me.
xxx
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