The book Room by Emma Donoghue is written in the perspective of a five-year old boy named Jack who lives in a single, locked room with his mother. The story goes through the lives of these two characters that have been locked away from the world and must live inside four walls of solitude. As the reader sees how the story unfolds as to how they came to be in the room along their desperation to escape from the prison that is their lives.
When I first picked up this book I remember the lady at the shop saying, “That book is really good but it will break your heart.” I have to say after reading such a powerful, moving piece of work as this novel is; I would have to agree with her. This novel is heart breaking and will push you to your own edge. To be honest I stopped reading the book twice because I wasn’t sure if I could finish it. The thought of being taken from the world you once knew and being locked into a room is a horrible event. Jack the five-year old, who narrates the story, is the character you feel for the most since the room he lives in may only be the world he will ever know. The trials Jack and his mother face make your heart ache with the thought that there are people like them out there. It is eerie to imagine that we live in a society that a person could be taken by someone else and be locked away, and the ghastly thought about this story is the realization of it.
This book has disturbed me more than any other book I have ever read, well there was just one other. The other book that has caused me to feel such discomfort was Night by Elie Wiesel, which is a story about Elie’s first days at the concentration camp o f Auschwitz. In high school I have read tales from events of the holocaust, genocide and other gruesome stories of the past and present but nothing like Room. I think the reason that I found it disturbing is due to the fact that stories like this have some to be true in my life time. Maybe the other sad stories I have heard did not affect me in such a way because they were not during my life, or during my generation but this story is a major issue in today’s society. I did enjoy this novel even though it drew upon fears and emotions that most people would be afraid to show. It is an honest, true work for those willing to give yourself over to the novel. If you are of weak mind or weak soul then this book will be a greater challenge to understand then others but if you seek to read the book, you should. It sheds light in places we may not understand and allows us to experience something that hopefully, we will never be able to.
This book is also part of the Richard & Judy Book club and the TV Book Club, so reading this book will be killing two book clubs with one stone. I
think it is time I read something funny that makes me laugh.
A Comfy Chair in the Corner 