"Room" by Emma Donoghue.
Seven years ago, Jack's mother was taken and held captive in a man's soundproof garden shed. "Room" is eleven feet square, it is her prison - but to Jack, Room is the whole world.
Told in an innocent Jack's perspective, Room tells the story of Jack and his mothers life as they grow and try to cope in this single room. Room is a dreadful story that plucks the heartstrings but is filled with such love and hope between the pair that the reader has to empathise with them.
Things are very different from Jack's perspective, Room is the whole world and nothing on tv is real. Trees and grass and mountains and buildings are tv. Spongebob and Dora are his friends. Ma and Old Nick are the only two people, other than himself that exist.
By the way the story is told, you get an insight of the impact of growing up in isolation from the rest of the world would have on a child and how influenced a child can be by television.
The story is so cleverly told that when Jack explains something he experiences, we can tell straight away what it actually means.
Donoghue sets the scene of room very well by the description of her characters.
Jack is Five. He has long hair that goes way past his shoulders. He has never been exposed to sunlight and his eyes have never focused on an object more than eleven feet away. He has never worn shoes. Jack is a very intelligent child who can remember big words and their meanings for his age, he is very patient and never complains. His mother is everything to him. Now that Jack is five he is starting to get more curious and is beginning to question her.
Jack's mother has been in room for seven years now. To her, Jack is the only thing keeping her going, he brings her hope. Through determination and fierce motherly love, she has created a life for him. She is Jacks teacher, he learns everything from her and takes in her every word. She cares for him and keeps him safe from harm.
The theme of motherly love emerges in Room. Jack and his Mother have a strong, loving relationship like no other between a mother and a child. They depend solely on each others company. Without the help of his mother, Jack would be lost in a world of unknown. She is his teacher, his carer, the only person he truly knows. Without Jack, Ma would not have hope or the will power to keep going. Donoghue shows the importance of a loving relationship between mother and child.
Another theme that Donoghue may suggest is that of media and technology and how reliant we are upon it. Jack's only view of the outside world is through the television and he relates what he sees on his favourite cartoons to real life.
This novel really showed me life in a different perspective and had me hooked from the very first page. It is a very unique novel, chilling but compelling and I always wanted to read on. The only aspect to this novel that may put a reader off is the way it is narrated by a five year old and it can be irritating. I would recommend reading this novel as it is an easy but satisfying read.
