Room: A Novel

· Sold by Little, Brown
4.5
995 reviews
Ebook
336
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The award-winning bestseller that became one of the most talked about and memorable novels of the decade, Room is "utterly gripping...a heart-stopping novel" (San Francisco Chronicle).   Held captive for years in a small shed, a woman and her precocious young son finally gain their freedom, and the boy experiences the outside world for the first time.

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating — a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

Ratings and reviews

4.5
995 reviews
N/A N/A (NA)
June 8, 2023
Fabulous read! My granddaughter recommended it to me and I loved it. Very heart touching and easy to read/comprehend. Love her writing technique for the story. Grabs ones attention quickly and keeps your interest. Couldn't put the book down! Made me cry.
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A Google user
July 4, 2011
Another book that I delayed reading due to all the hype that preceded its release and after the release. I am glad I waited, but absolutely thrilled that the ladies of one of my book clubs picked this book out to read this year. I didn't read any of the reviews before diving in. Now onto my review - A heart wrenching tale of a mother who is trying with all her might to protect her son from her kidnapper, but at the same time keeping him from knowing what is in the outside world that he is missing. Esentially she has made a world for him so he doesn't understand that his situation is different from anyone else's "normal." Some may think this weird of her - I find her to be heroic to not expose her son to the reality of the world they are trapped in while making sure that is enjoying their current status. Without spoiling the ending for those of you who have not had the opportunity to pick this one up - the second half is very different from the first. I am still struggling as to which half I enjoyed more. Because this book is written from Jack's perspective, the story is much easier to handle. At times I had a difficulty understanding what he was describing because I couldn't always get his 5 year old mind set and language. As I don't have children, I may not react to this book as my mom and sister will, but I think both groups should read and will enjoy this one.
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A Google user
September 25, 2012
Interesting book. It's a challenge to get into right out of the gate because of the way it is written from the child's point of view. There are some definite humorous moments, and then some terribly sad moments. All in all, if you are looking for something to read, give it a shot. A solid 3/5
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About the author

Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is an Irish emigrant twice over: she spent eight years in Cambridge doing a PhD in eighteenth-century literature before moving to London, Ontario, where she lives with her partner and their two children. She also migrates between genres, writing literary history, biography, stage and radio plays as well as fairy tales and short stories.

She is best known for her novels, which range from the historical (Frog Music, Slammerkin, Life Mask, Landing, The Sealed Letter) to the contemporary (Akin, Stir-Fry, Hood, Landing). Her international bestseller Room was a New York Times Best Book of 2010 and was a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth, and Orange Prizes.

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