Throwback Thursday – Room by Emma Donoghue

Throwback Thursday is a meme created by Renee at It’s Book Talk to share old favorite books rather than just the new shiny ones. This is a great idea to bring back to life some much-loved books. Please feel free to join in.

My choice for this week is: 

Room by Emma Donoghue

Published September 13, 2010 by Little, Brown and Company

 

Goodreads Description:

 

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world…

Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience – and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. 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 is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

My Thoughts:

 

I read this book quite a few years ago and it is still a favorite. This book had such a hold on me that I finished it in two sittings. After I was done it was all I could think about for days and still think about quite often.

The story was told from five-year-old Jack’s point of view (child-speak and all). It was unexpected but ended up being wonderful. It took a little time (maybe 10 pages) to get used to following Jack’s train of thought, but after that it was easy. He stole my heart! I was drawn into their private world right from the beginning.

Even though Ma is not a main voice in the novel a vivid picture is given from Jack’s descriptions. I could feel the love she had for Jack while she struggled to keep it together for herself and her son. I was so impressed by her resourcefulness and how she even helps Jack somewhat thrive in a place she desperately wants to escape.

An amazing and heart-wrenching story of love and survival. Although there is dark subject matter I felt it was handled gently. My emotions were wrung out and it truly made me thankful for my freedom and the freedom of my child. It kept me tightly gripped and on the edge of my seat until the very end. Definitely, an extremely riveting and powerful read that I highly recommend.

Favorite quotes:

“Before I didn’t even know to be mad that we can’t open Door, my head was too small to have Outside in it. When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I’m five I know everything.”

“I don’t like a clever toilet looking at our butts.”