Room by Emma Donoghue (audio book)

Narrated by: 
     Michael Friedman
     Ellen Archer
     Robert Petkoff
     Suzanne Toren


Synopsis from Publisher:  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:  When I first read the synopsis of Room I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to handle it.  I thought it might be too emotionally wrenching for a mother to a young boy.  There is no way that I could handle any sort abuse against Jack.  I wondered if it was going to be painful to read as the story is told from the perspective of five year old Jack.  

As I listened to Jack I was constantly picturing my little monkey.  This made it a little difficult to listen to at times, but it was well worth it.


The ending was not entirely unexpected, but still surprising if that makes any sense at all. 


On the narration: I thought the narrators did an excellent job.  At first I thought that "Old Nick" sounded like too much of a good guy to be the monster who could do such a thing.  After further pondering I realized that he HAD to sound like a nice guy in order to have gotten Ma to go along with him in the first place.  


I loved the youthfulness of young Jack's voice and the wonder about the world that was conveyed each time he spoke.  


The bottom Line:  I fully understand why this book has received so many award nominations.  I would encourage you to seek out either in audio or in print.  It is certainly worth the read and the subsequent discussion.

I received my copy of Room from the publisher.