Confession: I judge a book by it's cover.
I mean, it's not like I'm opposed to reading tattered paperbacks, or books with super boring, predictable covers, it's just when I see a pretty book, I pick it up. I noticed this about myself years ago, when I find myself constantly selecting the same books off the shelf during every library visit. Emma Donoghue's Room definitely has a "pretty" cover, and I admit this "pretty"cover is the whole reason I picked up the book in the first place. After devouring this novel in a single day, (shh.. I was on vacation) I was actually a little bit thankful for my sometimes shallow view on book covers. Donoghue's novel definitely lived up to it's cover.
Room is told from the perspective of five-year-old Jack, who was born into a 12x12 shed, which is the entire world as he knows it. The reader sees the world as innocently as Jack does, and feels the emotions of the naive boy as he ventures into a world he has never known. Jack as the narrator is extremely powerful, and even moving. The development of Jack, and the changes in his understanding are what makes the novel so compelling.
I'll admit, the book was somewhat difficult for me to get into. I had a hard time acknowledging that Jack, an intelligent child, referred to a wardrobe as Wardrobe, as though it were a living entity, but that's just me being picky. Once I moved past the fact that Jack was addressing nouns as pronouns, I could appreciate how such a thing contributed to the authentic feeling of the novel. I was literally pulled into Jack's world, Room, and was entirely pleased with how the novel progressed.
I'm not going to provide any more details about Room; you'll have to get a copy of the book and find out what happens! If you've read this novel, feel free to leave a comment below. What did you think of it?
-Jordan
