Room: A Novel

This story is written by a woman who seems to have been wondering what a baby thinks when it is introduced to the world. But, baby's can't talk. Well then, if the baby isn't introduced to the world until it has developed a fantastic vocabulary at the age of six the we have our story premise. Adult puts big vocabulary into the character of Jack and throws in gobs of baby talk for realism. Pretend it is in the USA, one of the only countries on the planet that doesn't celebrate May Day, and you have this booooooring book. I think that's why it isn't important to get into the depths of the subject matter. The part that is supposed to be interesting is the woman's wish to know a child's opinion of the things it first encounters in its world. If that's your thing, you are easily entertained.
I don't know how people can find this traumatizing to read. The author was careful to arrange Jack in a position where he doesn't know, hear or see anything going on and he can't miss the world he has never met. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the book which many have mentioned. I do not understand the motive for setting this in the USA when that is obviously not what the author knows. Is Ma British or why does she say things like in a tick, duvet, sea, etc?

It’s a book required for private high school. Interesting

The book is okay but the movie was even better.

Excellent, riveting book!!

Heart wrenching but an amazing book. I wrote a paper for psychology based on the movie and decided to buy the book too. The two are so similar (being that Donoghue had a huge hand in the screenwriting) You have to have a strong will to read this story but its worth it.

I haven’t seen the movie, but I love this book. I enjoyed the voice of the narrator, convincingly childlike without being childish, evocatively portraying a terrifying world without ever giving way to adult expectations, and turning the concept of an unreliable narrator entirely on its head. The premise of this novel is horrific, for sure. But the situation is seen through innocent eyes, where Room needs no “the,” and neither does “wardrobe,” where sleep switches you off, and where a mother might sometimes be oddly absent despite physical presence.

Jack’s world consists of one room, one mother, and one other who maybe takes out the trash but rarely intrudes on his life. Expanding his horizons will surely be a good thing. But author Emma Donoghue portrays the continuing struggle for normality just as convincingly as the initial, almost surreal life of two people alone in a room. Easy answers are hard to come by, for mother and for child. Horrors still lie in wait. But so does hope, beyond the walls of that room. It’s all beautifully told, and it all depicts a beautiful relationship between mother and child.

Disclosure: I was given a copy as a gift.

Had I not watched the movie I never would have made it through the book. Reading in 'Jack's' voice was very annoying.

OMG.....WHAT AM I READING.... THIS HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE. 3 DAYS HAVE PASSED AND NOW THAT IT IS DONE I CANT FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! WATCHING THE MOVIE TO FILL THE VOID THAT HAS BEEN LEFT IN MY SOUL FROM TURNING THE LAST PAGE. .......*Great book

I loved it!

This novel is filled with run-on sentences, poor grammar, poor punctuation, and a relatively limited vocabulary. It was nearly impossible for me to connect with the narrator (a 5-year-old, as you've no doubt heard by now) until I had a firm understanding of the way he used language. Even then, there were moments when I couldn't figure out what he was trying to say until after the fact. Under normal circumstances, all of the above and more would have me fully expecting to hate reading this book. Instead, I've given it five stars.

It's easy and understandable for someone to turn down the opportunity to read this story based on the aforementioned concerns. I was skeptical, too, but intrigued. Once I was able to get past the language barrier - a step that really didn't take very long - the story and its narration continued to hold my interest with ease. Furthermore, my interest in the story was bolstered by its psychological elements; the relationship between the narrator and his mother is as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. While the plot is full of suspense, I found myself engaging with Jack's (the narrator's) mental state, trying to figure out how much of the world he'd come to understand. The ways in which he interacted with others displayed so much intelligence and ignorance. I was constantly reminded just how traumatized the poor boy was, even if he didn't know it yet. All of these nuances were the result of highly-skilled and believable writing, and I think Ms. Donoghue ought to be congratulated for just how successfully she pulled it off.

Also striking to me was the reminder of the kinds of thought processes I had when I was 5 years old. Jack sometimes came across as a brat to me, but the mental connections he made between events, objects, character traits, etc. were actually a little inspiring. Every once in a while, Jack's imagination would make me remember that the way I think about these things is not the only way there is to do so. Because children this young are naturally playful in this way, I can appreciate Ms. Donoghue's chosen narrator all the more. This is as much a tale of survival as it is an exploration of the coping mechanisms of an intelligent 5-year-old boy.