Before starting this book, I was not exactly sure what to expect. I had heard so many things about it and all of them seemed to be good, which seemed very unlikely to me that I had heard nothing but praise about this book. When it became a monthly read for an online book group, I knew it was time for me to give it a try. This story was entrancing and yet dark at the same time. This isnt some fluffy, happy, cutesy story but it is very deep and emotional.
This story is told through the five year old eyes of Jack. I think he was the right narrator for a few different reasons but it also presented a challenge. How do you accurately describe some of the horrific things that happen in this book if your narrator is a mere 5 years old and may not understand it? Its a dilemma and there were times that I felt the author struggled with her narrator, but it also made the story better. In my opinion, having a child be the narrator for the story made the subject matter easier to get through. As an adult reading his descriptions you knew what was going on, but it was less gritty and thrown in your face and so it made it easier to deal with. A story about a woman who was kidnapped and held captive as a sexual slave for nearly a decade and who gave birth in this room to her kidnappers child is really tough and emotional to read about. Having it filtered through the eyes of a child lessens the horror a little bit, which allows you to see the story as a whole.
I had two issues with this book, one of them is small and one is rather big. The small irritation is that sometimes Jack talked like a adult, or made observations that no five year old child would ever really care about. For example, when Jack makes an observation about how people in the world are always busy and never have time for anything and so stressed. A kindergarten age child doesnt look around and think about other peoples stress. It was moments like that when I felt that the author struggled having a child narrator who couldnt realistically portray what she wanted to portray in certain instances.
The bigger irritation was how the adults insisted on treating Jack after they were rescued from Room. Even his Ma kept treating him as if he should have been acting and responding differently. When he said he wanted to go back to Room his Ma would get angry with him. I understand that for her it was a prison cell and a torture room, but for Jack it was the ONLY life and existence he ever knew. It was never a negative place, it was home. Its only natural for him to want to go back. And the other adults did it too. When Jack took something from a store and tried to leave with it, they were angry with him. Hes a child for Gods sake! And a child who has no experience at all in functioning in the outside world! It made me angry and it made me dislike most of the adults in the book.
The ending of this book, however, washed away any irritation I had with the book. They get to put their experience to rest and that part brought me to tears. The moment that Jack stands in the door and says, this isnt Room anymore, my heart broke and I knew that I loved this book. Its very rare that a book brings tears to my eyes, but this one did. It wasnt perfect, I mentioned my problems with the book, but it did touch my heart.
Review also posted to my personal blog and other book sites.
This story is told through the five year old eyes of Jack. I think he was the right narrator for a few different reasons but it also presented a challenge. How do you accurately describe some of the horrific things that happen in this book if your narrator is a mere 5 years old and may not understand it? Its a dilemma and there were times that I felt the author struggled with her narrator, but it also made the story better. In my opinion, having a child be the narrator for the story made the subject matter easier to get through. As an adult reading his descriptions you knew what was going on, but it was less gritty and thrown in your face and so it made it easier to deal with. A story about a woman who was kidnapped and held captive as a sexual slave for nearly a decade and who gave birth in this room to her kidnappers child is really tough and emotional to read about. Having it filtered through the eyes of a child lessens the horror a little bit, which allows you to see the story as a whole.
I had two issues with this book, one of them is small and one is rather big. The small irritation is that sometimes Jack talked like a adult, or made observations that no five year old child would ever really care about. For example, when Jack makes an observation about how people in the world are always busy and never have time for anything and so stressed. A kindergarten age child doesnt look around and think about other peoples stress. It was moments like that when I felt that the author struggled having a child narrator who couldnt realistically portray what she wanted to portray in certain instances.
The bigger irritation was how the adults insisted on treating Jack after they were rescued from Room. Even his Ma kept treating him as if he should have been acting and responding differently. When he said he wanted to go back to Room his Ma would get angry with him. I understand that for her it was a prison cell and a torture room, but for Jack it was the ONLY life and existence he ever knew. It was never a negative place, it was home. Its only natural for him to want to go back. And the other adults did it too. When Jack took something from a store and tried to leave with it, they were angry with him. Hes a child for Gods sake! And a child who has no experience at all in functioning in the outside world! It made me angry and it made me dislike most of the adults in the book.
The ending of this book, however, washed away any irritation I had with the book. They get to put their experience to rest and that part brought me to tears. The moment that Jack stands in the door and says, this isnt Room anymore, my heart broke and I knew that I loved this book. Its very rare that a book brings tears to my eyes, but this one did. It wasnt perfect, I mentioned my problems with the book, but it did touch my heart.
Review also posted to my personal blog and other book sites.
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