Room
Ratings337
Average rating3.9
I really wanted to like this book. It's been on my tbr list since it came out. I'd heard so many positive reviews and knew that it had been nominated for numerous awards including the Booker Prize. Sadly, by page 20 I wanted to slap a piece of duct tape over the narrator's mouth. That doesn't leave much room for “liking” a story.
Using a 5 year old as the narrator was a unique but ultimately unwise choice. Jack wasn't precocious, he was over-indulged and annoying. His voice wasn't believable or consistent. Sometimes it seemed like he was 5, other times 25 and still other times maybe 2 ½ at most. Jack knows words like hippopotami but not oven (refers to it as stove's tummy). He can sing along with Lady Gaga and Chumbawumba, talk about the Picasso's Guernica and the fall of the Berlin Wall but doesn't know that you say you turn up the thermostat or cook food? Seriously? Ma created a game where he mimics what he hears on tv so he knows proper speech and Ma corrects him every time he says “brung” instead of brought. Yet he's saying thing like “waterfall the milk” or “hot up the room”. Was that supposed to be cute? It wasn't.
Getting past the inconsistent narrative voice was difficult enough, but then I had to stop nitpicking at the details the author didn't quite get right. I can only assume some of these things were because Donaghue set the story in the US but hasn't spent any amount of time here herself - things like Jack watching Dora the Explorer daily when they only got broadcast stations (Dora is a Nickelodeon show, thus requiring access to cable or a satellite service).
The second half of the book was better, but not by much. It's obvious that Jack has some psychological issues to deal with – at the very least he has OCD tendencies (the constant counting of things, especially his teeth) yet that is never really brought up even though Jack is telling everything that happened to him. The one plus was that we got to meet Steppa, easily my favorite character.
Emma Donoghue deserves credit for attempting to tackle such a difficult, repulsive subject. To get inside the idea of being held captive, of not knowing anything beyond an 11x11 space, of being suddenly thrust into the big, scary world etc, is a huge challenge - a challenge, that in the end the author didn't really succeed at completing. I'm still debating between 1 and 2 stars. For now I'll go with 2, but that could change.
What if you grow up in a tiny universe, a tiny room and that's all you know? What if you're trapped in a tiny room and you raise a child in there? How would you build your child's world? How would you describe it?
Plot and writing were just ok. Still, it was at times very heartfelt and touching. And I did have an aha moment later on, that I appreciated.
A re-read where I'd forgotten the details from the last reading. That meant I got to experience it all again. Not so much of an “enjoyable” read - although there is joy in Jack's love for his mother and the only world he's ever known. It deals well with some difficult adult subjects by having us see them through Jack's eyes. Definitely better than I'd remembered it being!
The writing style of Room is very hard to get through, and I highly recommend the audiobook which is actually narrated by a kid and feels much less awkward. The story is difficult and heartbreaking.
Got off to a semi-dull start, but started picking up around page 80. It did have a few more dull moments, but overall it was a worthwile read, and I would recommend it.
Narrated entirely by a five year old what quickly could become grating is sustained nicely (but only because on reflection it's really an adult telling the story as a child if that makes sense)
The beginning was amazing, but I couldn't finish this; halfway through I admitted defeat. So much potential, but the author fell flat on her face. Don't believe the hype!
This was a very powerful and moving book! I liked the characters' interaction, especially between Ma and Jack as first she protects him from Old Nick and then how she prepares him for a much wider world.
Alasanku memilih Room Karena meraih banyak penghargaan & sdh difilmkan, walau aku blm nonton. Pengalaman yg sdh2 kalo udh nonton filmnya jadi malas baca bukunya.
Penulis memakai POV seorang anak berumur 5 tahun. Cerita dimulai di hari ulang tahun Jack yg ke-5. Seiring cerita bergulir kita akan disuguhi cerita kalo seseorang yg dipanggil Jack sebagai Ma diculik oleh seseorang yg dipanggil Jack “Nick Tua”. Ma dikurung di sebuah ruangan bernama “kamar” dan memperkosa Ma berulang-ulang. Jack terlahir atas hubungan tersebut.
Untuk seleraku naratif Jack terlalu dewasa untuk anak seumurannya. Mungkin jika diceritakan dari POV Ma, buku ini akan terasa cocok untukku.
Was not prepared for the story to be told from Jack's point of view but it was still good.
While I've chosen to abandon this book it doesn't mean it was bad. It just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it. This could have been partly due to the fact that I watched the movie before trying to read this and that the movie seemed to do a good job of following the book. Or at least what I read of it.
I could not put this down. I read it in one shot. Now, I have to see if I remember it. I predict it will be this year's Lovely Bones.
I'd been waiting to read this for months. It is told from the perspective of 5-year-old Jack. Everything in the world is in Room, where Jack and Ma live, and outside Room is outer space. But to Ma, Room is the soundproof cell she has been trapped in for seven years after she was kidnapped by a man they call Old Nick. Room is where they watch TV and learn and live, but Ma has grown weary of life in Room, and has been planning their escape. But Jack doesn't want to leave Room, because he's convinced there is no Outside their four walls. While I really enjoyed the book, after a little while it was tiresome for my brain to read the abrupt thoughts of a very young child; but even though there are not sections from Ma's point of view, there are still enough things going on that paint a picture of Ma's life before Room and while in Room. Overall an excellent read.
While a good book, it didn't live up to the hype I expected. I wanted something more than I was given. By the last 70 pages I wanted to quit and move on, but I pushed through. 3 stars is a very generous review.
Es un libro que me ha gustado mucho!!! Venía muy condicionada por la película, pero lo cierto es que ambos formatos comparten la misma esencia, la novela amplia el mundo de Jack y te hace entender por lo que han pasado los personajes principales. Recomendable al 100%.