Room: A Novel

Emma Donoghue

Sep 2010 · Sold by Little, Brown

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

One of the best books I have read! Very interesting and brought a whole new perspective to myself as a reader. I could not put this book down and read it in 2 days! I would suggest this to anybody who loves to read! Just a note, I found the book extremely frustrating at first and very annoying, with the way that Jack speaks. However, as the book goes on I learned to get used to it and it didn't bother me!

Not a big fiction fan. This one had its irks and quirks but I'm glad I read it. The relationship between the main characters is refreshingly original. The author's spacial descriptions are insightful and make it easy to envision the scenes. The dialogue and feigned childlike wording is often awkward but the story is solid. I enjoyed immersing myself in this short book.

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

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.