Room

It’s been a while since I started to think that I should write a review of a certain book titled “Room“. The  reason is just that “Room“ is one of those books which make a real impact in you and you get hooked on it from the very first pages. It is a tender and overwhelming book which makes you experience a bittersweet feeling while you are reading its pages.

This book was written by Emma Donoghue and it was published in 2010.  The story is told by Jack, a five-year-old boy who has spent all his life with his Ma in the Room. He has never seen another kid or a building and he doesn’t even know that there are more people in the world than he, his Ma and the Old Nick. The Old Nick is an old man around 50 or 60 years old, that comes to the Room at night to bring them food (and the Sunday treat), while Jack sleeps in the Wardrove.

In fact, the Old Nick is the man who 6 years ago kidnapped Jack’s mom and locked her up in that tiny little room where Jack was born. In that small place, Jack’s mom has created through games and routines a whole world for both of them. But the problems come when Jack turns 5, because at that point he starts making questions and his world begins to crumble when he discovers that there is more in life that what he knows. The whole book revolves about what happens when Jack’s Ma comes up with a plan so both of them can escape from the Old Nick and from the Room.

Although the topics this story deals with are quite sensitive, the way in which Jack lets the reader know about them makes of this book a small wonder. Room is not a book that tries to make you feel really sad about what is happening between its pages and it doen not try to make you cry, but it’s a book that can make your feelings wake up in not a dramatic way.

Here are a couple of lines I picked for the first chapter:

“We have thousands of things to do every morning, like give Plant a cup of water in Sink for no spilling, then put her back on her saucer on Dresser. Plant used to live on Table but God’s face burned a leaf of her off. She has nine left, they’re the wide of my hand with furriness all over, like Ma says dogs are. But dogs are only TV. I don’t like nine. I fi nd a tiny leaf coming, that counts as ten.

Spider’s real. I’ve seen her two times.”

The way I got to this book was through the trailer of its movie so here you have its link ;-).

The movie was also written by Emma Donoghue and directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Rumor has it that his main character, Jacob Tremblay who plays Jack, might be nominated for the Oscar’s awards.

I hope you enjoy this movie (or book) as much as I enjoyed the book.

 thecat