Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.
I first tried reading this book a few months ago, and only got a few pages in as I couldn’t get over the way Jack spoke, but luckily I tried again and once I made it over that initial hurdle, I was soon engrossed in the story. It is really just a unique way to write a book and I had to keep reminding myself that this kind of thing actually can happen.
The book was very well written. From the perspective of 5 year old Jack we got to hear about the ‘games’ they would play with his Ma, which in the eyes of a child who doesn’t know better are innocent fun, but are really cries for help to the outside.
I enjoyed how equal time was spent focusing on their time in the room, and then moved to them adjusting to outside - it didn’t just end with them leaving the room and they lived happily ever after. It made the abrupt change feel more life-like, not how it would necessarily be in a Hollywood movie.
I thought the ending was quite abrupt (really I could have read more) but even then you were left with a sense of what their plan was to move forward and how they were going to get their closure now they had seen the room again and were ready to move on.
If, like me, you are struggling to get in to the story at first, then the only advice I can give it to please persist, it is worth it I swear.
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