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 Views: I have heard a lot about this book and its plot and it sounded really disturbing to me. So I was not sure what to expect from this book. But from the very first page I was hooked to the book. The fact that the whole story is narrated by a five-year old makes it really different.
The first half of the book revolves around the life of Jack and Ma and how they have created a whole world inside the room. Their daily life and the struggles for basic necessities like food, clothes and every other thing was really disturbing yet endearing. And then they escape that confinement and become free. But for little Jack it is not easy to digest the fact that they are not going back to Room which was his home till now.
The second half of the book deals with the new life of Jack and Ma in the world. While Ma is coping up with post traumatic depression, Jack is trying to understand the place called world and how different it is from the life in Room. The book is such a compelling read that I can't put it down. But I am slightly disappointed with the end, I think its kind of abrupt. But I know that it was the most apt closure.
This is a story which will stay with you for a long time. Even with their dark and horrible circumstances, both Jack and Ma deal so beautifully with their lives. For me the whole story symbolizes hope, hope that some day everything will be alright.
Beautiful and well paced, this a must read for everyone.
Favorite Quotes:
- "In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time...I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well...I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.”
- If I was made of cake I'd eat myself before somebody else could.
- Goodbye, Room." I wave up at Skylight. "Say goodbye," I tell Ma. "Goodbye, Room."
Ma says it but on mute.
I look back one more time. It's like a crater, a hole where something happened. Then we go out the door.
My Ratings: 4.75 out of 5
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