Room - Emma Donoghue

Five-year-old Jack has spent his whole life in a single room. He and his mother are held captive in a small outbuilding with a little kitchen, a bathtub, a bed and very little else. Not wanting her son some to realise the despair they are living in she protects him from the truth. Jack is oblivious to the situation and therefore he is happy. He is healthy, clean and clever. He doesn't know that Ma was kidnapped seven years ago and that he is the the product of Ma being raped by her abductor.

When their kidnapper loses his job and is set to lose the house, Ma realises that he will rather kill them than set them free, so she comes up with a plan to escape. Given that Jack knows nothing of the world outside the room, enlisting his help on this is very risky.

Donoghue tells this story from Jack's point of view. The writing is beautiful and the naivete of this boy who has never left the room really does come through. Jack has a very innocent soul and this shines through in the writing, without having him sound like an obnoxious or precocious little boy.

Jack thinks of every object in the room, such as Rug and Melty Spoon, as a friend with characteristics and they are referred to as proper nouns. This is a wonderful writing tool. It emphasises Jack's youth and vulnerability at every turn, as well as showing his caring nature.

While the first section of the book can be a little tedious (hey, they have a day-to-day routine and live in one room, how exciting can it be!?) it is absolutely worth sticking with. The story is compelling, the writing is creative and overall I really enjoyed this book.