Book review: Room by Emma Donahue

Imagine thinking that the whole world is the small enclosed space that you live in. Imagine thinking that the shows you're seeing on TV are other planets. Imagine being a 5yr old who thinks that his world consists of just him, his Ma, Old Nick and all the inanimate objects in the room that he treats as friends.

That's how it is for Jack. He lives in Room, sleeps in Wardrobe and is wary of Door.

There's a lot about this book that tugged at my heart. Jack is such an innocent character that I just want to weep and pull him in for a hug. For him everything is either this or that, no in-between. He can't picture a world where other people are named the same as him, in his mind how can that be when he's Jack? He panicked when he saw on TV a bottle of the same meds that they have in their closet. How did TV get hold of their bottle?

I'm getting ahead of myself..

The Characters:

Jack's Ma is amazing. Sure, she's not perfect, but you can certainly feel the strength of her character, how she tries to hold herself together for Jack's sake. There are days when she zones out, but I can't fault her for that. She was thrust in a situation and she's tried to make the best of it so her anger and pain won't get passed on to Jack. For Jack, except for the days that Ma zones out or the nights that Old Nick comes in Room, everything is perfectly alright in their world.

Speaking of Old Nick, oh, what a despicable character! Even Jack's 5yr old's perspective can't hide his evil nature.

And Jack? He's intuitive, intelligent, mature for his age and it's easy to sometimes forget that he's only 5yrs old. He knows words I don't but he says 'bringed' instead of 'brought'. And I don't think it's because he's only 5, I think it's more to do with the fact that for him, like I said earlier, it's either this or that. I mean, the most common form of a word's past tense is when we add a 'd' or 'ed' at the end so for Jack, how can it be 'brought' then? What I admired most about Jack is his resilience. When Ma told him the truth, it got too much for him to understand, but he ploughed on..

My thoughts:

The book is all told from Jack's perspective so we're treated to hearing a 5yr-old's voice throughout the book. While that was different and ingenious, a small part of me wished that the narrative was told alternatively between Jack and his Ma. It would have provided a contrast to how Jack thinks their life is compared to how it really is as seen or heard from his Ma's perspective. Because Jack is only 5yrs old, we can't really trust how he views things.. While it was mostly endearing, at times it was tiring.

Granted that Jack's world revolved around Room, the author was still able to paint a vivid picture of their life with carefully crafted words. While I was reading the book, I was there in Room with them and I sure did feel Ma's frustration at the confinement. And as I said, because Jack is the narrator, you learn to read between the lines and then feel so sad for them. The narrator may be innocent, but the underlying narrative sure isn't.

All in all, this is a good book, wonderfully written. It is a study of human nature, growth, adaptation, courage & a mother's relationship and love for her child.

*Recommended by the same awesome friend who introduced me to Kat & Peeta & Gale, thanks Sweets!

Til then!