Room
Emma Donoghue
Read by Suzanne Toren, Robert Petkoff, Ellen Archer, Michal Friedman

Hachette Audio
June 1, 2011/ ISBN 1607886278
General Fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Jo Rogers

“Room” is the story of Jack and his ma, who live in Room. As the story opens, it is Jack’s fifth birthday. He was born in Room, leaving a bloodstain on Rug. There is Skylight, who lets them see God’s golden face. Other things in room are Bed, Wardrobe, where Jack sleeps when “Old Nick” comes to see Ma, and Door, who always beeped when “Old Nick” arrived. Jack had never seen “Old Nick,” because Ma didn’t want him to, but Jack had heard him. He always counted the number of creaks the bed made before he made his happy gasp and went to sleep in Bed with Ma.

Old Nick brought them Sunday treats, which were mostly the necessities of life and maybe some chocolate bits. Jack had never been outside of Room. In his mind, everything that didn’t exist in Room was just TV, or fantasy.

Then Jack made Remote Control move Jeep to jump off Shelf onto Old Nick in the night, and Old Nick cut off the power to Room and didn’t bring Sunday treats. Ma wrapped Jack in Rug and convinced Nick that Jack was dead and Nick should carry the body away and dispose of it. As soon as he could, Jack would escape and go tell the police about Ma still being in Room.

“Room” is told from the viewpoint of five-year-old Jack. It covers not only the rescue of Ma seven years after she had been kidnapped and locked into a fortified storage shed, but the aftermath, recovering from the horrible ordeal. Ma isn’t a normal twenty-seven-year-old woman. Jack isn’t a normal five-year-old boy. They have been abused and imprisoned, Ma for seven years and Jack his entire life. But they have the Strength to survive, making them wonderful characters. Listen to “Room” and be inspired.

Reviewer's Note: Unabridged Audiobook / 11 HRs / Contains sexual situations, profanity