Here is a summary of Room from the Hachette website:
To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. . . . It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating--a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.
My Review:
This is the first book that I have read by Donaghue and let me tell you that it was amazing! I love it when an author can take a character and a situation and bring it to life to me on the page. This is exactly what happened to me with young Jack.
Jack is the little boy that was born in Room and has never had any exposure to the outside world. He doesn't know what he is missing outside, because he has never experienced it. All he knows is the house that his Ma made for him in the small room that contains all of the necessities for someone to stay alive in solitude.
Jack's Ma remembers her life in the outside world before she was abducted and locked away from society. She loves her son Jack, but she also longs to have her old life back. Although she appreciates the companionship with her son, she also desires relationships with other adults, and often when she can't handle life in Room any longer she will mentally retreat to a place that will not allow her to return until she is ready.
I am not going to give any more of this story away as I don't want to ruin it for anyone that hasn't read it yet. This is a story that could very possibly be pulled right of current headlines and even when people are rescued from these conditions, their lives are never the same. They must find a way to learn the rules of our society once again and even harder still, is being able to offer trust to any individual who comes in their lives.
This was an amazing story with themes of love, comfort, safety, abduction, and perseverance. I think this book would make an excellent book club selection, but it also is great for leisure reading on your own. I highly recommend this novel.
My Rating: 5/5
Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
