Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Title: Room
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Adult
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 321

Jack is five, and excited about his birthday. He lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures eleven feet by eleven feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real - only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside...

Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other. (More from Goodreads)

Room is a book that keeps popping up everywhere and remained within the periphery of my vision, untouched and unwanted- at least by me, and at least at that time. This is because (as I have probably mentioned before) I am kind of a book snob and would rarely indulge in buying contemporary fiction in place of a good young adult and/or fantasy title. That is until one fine day, I find someone raving about how good it was and decided, 'Why not? It has been available in the bargain bookstore for a while.'

I went into it blind. That's what the 'raving' suggested, and I sought no further summaries into the story.

So at first I was delighted that it was narrated by a child. An almost-toddler. It was a unique point of view, unsullied by shrewd analysis; mere observations from naive eyes, leaving you to do the deductions pertaining his environment. After a few pages, however, I got slightly frustrated that I couldn't understand everything he was talking about. I think the particular thing that vexed me only got solved a few chapters later, and made me go, 'Oh. That's what he was referring to.' It does get a tad overwhelming, but to aspiring readers, just go with the flow. Your questions will be answered in due time.

Apart from the occasional frustration, I feel a sense of accomplishment each time I figure out what Jack is talking about, and more about his world. Because truthfully, his narration can be a series of amusing riddles- what he narrates, and what they actually mean to the typical adult, are sometimes such stark contrasts that the reality of the situation may slap you, hard, across your face. Consider them a series of childish riddles. I know I did.

I don't want to go deeper into the plot. I think the summary is more than enough. This book is more of a 'feeling' book, and the best way to go into it is in the dark, and to feel your way through the story as you read. As stated in the blurb of this particular cover, yes, it is a book to read in one sitting. I didn't intend for it to be, but it was easy- because you desire to see the outcome, and another not-so-good reason is the fact that it can get very predictable, and you tend to skip over some words. 

Make that paragraphs.

I skimmed over a great deal of pages. Despite the unique premise, a journey full of 'feels', and the fact that I finished it in one sitting, there's only so many pages I can skim over out of sheer predictability before I decide that a book is not worth a certain rating to me, so there is that. There is also another reason, but I will not say it for fear of spoiling the story.

However, I would still recommend this book to most adults. I would not recommend it to anyone below 13, and not most teenagers below 17 (geographically speaking, this is the appropriate age range); also, I would not recommend this to those who are very easily squeamish. The extent of what I would tell them is the fact that it is a heart-wrenching story narrated by a 5-year-old boy. That would be it, and that should be enough for anyone to enjoy this read.

I enjoyed this book, and it was a surprise even to me!

~My Rating~

3 out of 5 stars

★★★☆☆