Sometimes when you're browsing through the shelves to pick something new to read, you find a book you've never heard of before. You get it in your hands and you instantly know you need to give it a go. It might be the title, the cover, or just that gut feeling.
In this case, it was the last one.
Title: Room
Author: Emma Donoghue
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 320
If you were to ask me what this book is about, my instant answer would be love. Love at its purest, the unconditional one, the one that makes you smile while there are tears streaming down your face. You can almost feel it through the pages, sometimes even taste it.
Room talks about a boy, Jack, who lives locked in a small room with his mother. He's only five which shows through the way he describes the small world around him. Because the Room is his world. He talks about each object with respect and admiration, he even uses a capital letter to name them all.
His voice is so different, his perspective so pure and unique.
I've never encountered anything like this before.
The narration was so vivid it almost felt like I was there with him, trapped in his head, looking through his eyes, feeling with his heat.
With each page, my mind was filled with questions and anticipation of what will happen next. The fact that I didn't really understand what is going on kept me reading on. I really needed to know.
When things finally started falling into place, I was flooded with emotion. I had to close the book, put it down for a minute and think about everything that I just found out about.
You know it's good when you have to do that while reading a book.
The only thing I didn't quite enjoy is the slow pace at the beginning and towards the end of the book. Even though I understood why it's written the way it is, I couldn't help but wish for something to finally happen. I didn't think that the story needed more of Jack's unawareness and innocence. During those times my mind would wander off a little bit and I had to force it to come back to the story.
Other than that, the book was incredible. It showed me another perspective, another story and I feel like everybody should get to know it. I think there is a movie based on Room, but I'm quite anxious to see it. I loved that the book was written from Jack's perspective, there is a big chance the film didn't catch that the way it should. This point of view is a challenging one. Donoghue wrote it amazingly, but what if the movie doesn't do it justice?
Rating: 4.5/5
Have you read Room? Or maybe you've seen the movie adaptation? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments down below!
2 Comments
I've never heard about this book before, it was when you told me, when I first got to know the title. The story sounds very interesting, but on the other hand it might be very devastating.
ReplyDeleteI love it how you describe such tiny details as the pace of the story and vivid narration. It's a very comprehensive review!
Is the movie out yet? I bet it might be interesting, but I don't know if should read the book first, the same as you :D
Thank you!
DeleteI think it is out, but I'm not sure. If it is, I'll probably get around it watching it soon. Reading the book first if always better!