Room by Emma Donoghue

Posted on | August 9, 2010 | 29 Comments

You may have noticed that Room by Emma Donoghue is a novel that is receiving a lot of attention across the blogosphere. Longlisted for this year’s Man Booker prize, there has been an ever-increasing organic buzz surrounding the novel, that is exciting, deserved and nothing like a droning vuvuzela. Picador in the UK have been fully-behind Room from the beginning, acquiring it for a six figure sum after a hotly-contested multi-publisher auction. I received a proof copy of the book months ago and am ashamed I did not pick it up sooner, instead seemingly jumping on the bandwagon once everyone else was reading and reviewing it too. As it was, I opted for Room over any of the remaining Booker dozen because I found its premise appealing and intriguing.

Room is highly original and incomparable; it really is like nothing I have read before. Much has been made of the novel’s readability and the fact that it can be easily read in one sitting but it is incredibly accessible and thrilling; I found it difficult to put down and in my second -and last- sitting I read it late into the night. I do wonder, however, how it will stand up to multiple rereads (by the Booker judges) as it relies heavily upon suspense, intensity and revelation. I also wonder if it is too accessible and popular to take the prize; although I found it immensely readable and outstanding in its originality, I did not think it was particularly literary.

Inspired by the Fritzl case, where Elisabeth Fritzl and her children were found to have been incarcerated in the basement of their captor’s (in this case, Joseph Fritzl, the woman’s father and children’s father/grandfather) house in Austria, Room is about Jack, a five-year-old boy and his Ma, who are being help captive in the room of the title. Eleven feet by eleven feet, Room is a converted garden shed with a security door and a skylight somewhere in America (a detailed plan of Room can be viewed here). Narrated by Jack we are given unique insight into their way-of-life beginning on his fifth birthday. To Jack, Room is the height of his existence with everything Outside make-believe; they watch a limited amount of television together each day but Jack knows -because Ma has told him- that everything in TV is pretend and only he, Ma and the things in Room are real. Now that he is five, Ma thinks he is old enough to know that there is a world outside and begins the process of “unlying” to him. Through Jack’s innocent point-of-view we learn that Ma, a nineteen-year-old student, was lured by her captor, “Old Nick”, seven years previously and is visited nightly by him, hiding Jack in the wardrobe where he listens to and counts “Old Nick creaks Bed”. Like Fritzl Old Nick withholds food and power as punishment and other day-to-day actualities and pertinent plot points directly mirror the real-life case.

Jack’s innocent voice lessens the tragedy of what is being described whilst still poignant; Donoghue has employed a very clever device in her narration because the depiction of events are far less harrowing through the eyes and words of a child. Ma educates and exercises Jack via games and imagination but some of the games serve an essential purpose, minus Jack’s understanding of it.

After nap we do Scream every day but not Saturdays or Sundays. We clear our throats and climb up on Table to be nearer Skylight, holding hands not to fall. We say “On your mark, get set, go,” then we open wide our teeth and shout holler howl yowl shriek screech scream the loudest possible. Today I’m the most loudest ever because my lungs are stretching from being five.

Then we shush with fingers on lips. I asked Ma once what we’re listening for and she said just in case, you never know.

The quote provides an insight into the style of Room in addition to illustrating the above point. To begin with the style irritated me as I became used to how Jack looked at Room and life but by the latter half of the book I found Jack exceedingly endearing. I cannot reveal to you what changed for me without spoiling the book but the narrative voice really grew on me; Jack inspires one to look at things differently.

Some readers will have issues with the subject matter and its topicality (there is a suggestion in the novel that Ma could have chosen to smother Jack upon birth as opposed to raise him in that confined and restricted environment and I was struck by recent news stories not of the kidnapping variety) but Donoghue goes further than striving for shock factor and the sentimental. The most touching part of Room is the strong bond between mother and child and how Ma teaches Jack and interacts with him using limited means; Room is a testimony of imagination, exhibited by how Ma and Jack use theirs. The quote below demonstrates how novel and important this interaction is but ***beware of spoilers (in reading the quotes -only the quotes- below you will instantly see where the novel goes)*** So often children are deprived of one-on-one parental attention and imaginative play that is essential to their development. Jack is articulate (within his perimeters) , intelligent and possesses an extensive vocabulary due to the extended time he spends with his parents; no, Jack and Ma’s situation is not the means of raising a savant child but a happy medium in child rearing is required. Of course, Jack’s unique situation, his advanced grasp of language and increased childhood innocence is what makes him so believable, useful and cherished as a narrator. Emma Donoghue interesting discusses her use of Jack’s voice, its intent and her means of creating it in this article; she modeled Jack on her own five-year-old son, Finn, at the time of writing, whilst making necessary adaptations in lieu of Jack’s unique upbringing.

The child-mother bond is the crux of the novel in its extraordinary setting. Ma breastfeeds Jack, amusingly referred to as “some” by him with references to left and right and the creamier; modern society can be so outraged by breastfeeding beyond a certain age and public feeding and Donoghue tackles the stigma that natural feeding attracts head-on. The second quote below (again, it is a spoiler) concerns breastfeeding, underlining people’s obsession with it, was one of the funniest in the novel for me.

With its Room setting and framing and its onus on TV being unreal, I believe that Donoghue is playing with the concept of the Fourth Wall and what makes reality. Ultimately it is a gimmicky book but one that is immensely readable and that I shall be passing on both physically and as a recommendation to everyone I know.

The below quotes contain spoilers.

Also everywhere I’m looking at kids, adults mostly don’t seem to like them, not even the parents do. They call the kids gorgeous and so cute, they make the kids do the thing all over again so they can take a photo, but they don’t want to actually play with them, they’d rather drink coffee talking to other adults. Sometimes there’s a small kid crying and the Ma doesn’t even hear.

The woman nods. “You breastfed him. In fact, this may startle some of our viewers, I understand you still do?”

Ma laughs.

The woman stares at her.

“In this whole story, that’s the shocking detail?”

Comments

29 Responses to “Room by Emma Donoghue”

Verity
August 9th, 2010 @ 11:17 am

Detailed review Claire – I am definitely intrigued to read this one – seems quite different from usual Booker fodder.
Simon (Savidge Reads)
August 9th, 2010 @ 11:33 am

Great review Claire, and that last quote – though not to be read if you havent read the book as you said, was another of my favourites. I do think Donoghue, with this book at least I dont know about the rest, can take certain sentences that encompass huge topics in one go which I found incredible.

Though not the most literary of books how she can impress one sentence on the reader to say and mean so much is a huge talent in itself. I sometimes wonder if readble and literary can truly harmonise sometimes if you know what I mean? Its something will be discussing tomorrow as part of a big question on Savidge Reads.

I did love this book, regardless of Man Booker winning I want it to do very well and like you will be recommending and buying (not for myself of course) for many people I know.
kimbofo
August 9th, 2010 @ 11:53 am

Great review, Claire.

Interesting that breastfeeding is a common subject in two booker prize longlisters this year: Room and The Slap.
diane
August 9th, 2010 @ 12:10 pm

I just skimmed your review as I hope to read this book in August. It certainly is getting a lot of attention.
Steph
August 9th, 2010 @ 4:33 pm

I always expect each subsequent review I read of this one to be the one where the person HATES Room… only that never seems to happen. I am getting increasingly scared that when I read it I will be that person to write the negative review… I mean surely the book can’t be THAT good, right?
Jackie (Farm Lane Books)
August 9th, 2010 @ 5:08 pm

I’ve had a copy of Room for ages too. It appealed the minute I heard about it, but I didn’t want to read it until its publication. It is just a shame it was longlisted before its publication as it does seem to have suddenly exploded everywhere!

I’m so pleased that everyone is loving this book. I hope the public take to it as much as bloggers seem to – it would be wonderful if it could justify the money Picador paid for it
Chris
August 9th, 2010 @ 6:10 pm

Fantastic review! I already have this one preordered and can’t wait to read it.
Iris
August 9th, 2010 @ 6:50 pm

What a wonderful review. I am intrigued by Room, because it is getting such stellar reviews everywhere. I am not sure how I’d handle the subject matter, but it means something that I want to read it despite of not being sure I could handle it.
Nymeth
August 10th, 2010 @ 8:23 am

I’ll be jumping on the bandwagon even later, but I don’t care – it sounds like such a great read. I do wonder if it’ll be too popular to get the Booker, but it’d be interesting if something a little different won for a change.
Dot
August 10th, 2010 @ 9:07 am

Wow, brilliant review, I really want to read this now!
Lydia @ The Literary Lollipop
August 10th, 2010 @ 2:52 pm

This book is everywhere, and for good reason, it seems. I’ve never read Emma Donoghue before but I think ROOM would be a great choice.
Alana
August 10th, 2010 @ 4:09 pm

I can’t wait to read this. It doesn’t come out in Canada until September 7, but I’m going to an authour event at my local library on September 13 where Emma Donoghue is doing a reading (she lives in my city, London, Ontario), and I cannot wait.
Shelley
August 10th, 2010 @ 9:45 pm

Too scary for me.

I just wanted to say that I miss all those beautiful aged book covers on the previous website!
mee
August 11th, 2010 @ 12:29 am

Thanks for tying it to the Fritzl case. Somehow I never connected it with the book even though I knew well about the case and was fascinated by it! The more I read people’s reviews on the book the more I’m intrigued. Will I be able to resist waiting until my library gets it?!
Buried In Print
August 11th, 2010 @ 3:43 pm

I’ve read several of her earlier books, but lost track since; your review definitely piques my interest once more though. Given your fondness for Angela Carter’s retellings of fairy tales, you might enjoy Donoghue’s Kissing the Witch, although they have a very different feel to them than Carter’s. I love both collections, but for almost-opposing reasons.
Teresa (Lovely Treez Reads)
August 11th, 2010 @ 11:11 pm

I’m still digesting this after reading it in two sittings a few days ago – not that it was too heavy or anything! It deserves every success and I hope that folk aren’t put off by the Fritzl connection and judge the book on its own understated merits. Great review, thank you.
softdrink
August 12th, 2010 @ 12:18 am

I loved, loved, loved it (especially the second half)…although I didn’t realize it was based on a real events.
Darlene
August 12th, 2010 @ 2:59 pm

Your review has drawn me in, Claire. I can well imagine this is a book which would have me carrying on a silent dialogue with some of the characters. The Fritzl case was so disturbing…how many signs were missed by a family and community?
Amanda
August 12th, 2010 @ 5:05 pm

I didn’t realize it was based on that case. We recently (like in the last year) had a case where a man kept a girl hostage for long enough that she had a young child like this when she escaped. When I first heard about the book, I thought it was one of those ripped from the headlines things talking about that case. I later learned differently. I do really want to read this.
The Book Whisperer
August 12th, 2010 @ 5:16 pm

I absolutely LOVED this book! I read it over the last weekend and still can’t get it out of my head – wonderful book.
Allison and Busby
August 13th, 2010 @ 11:56 am

[...] how we felt about One Foot Wrong, Paperback Reader blogger says of Room: “highly original and incomparable; it really is like nothing I have read [...]
Vasilly
August 14th, 2010 @ 7:42 pm

This is the first review that I’ve read that noted the book is based on real events. It sounds like an interesting book but I don’t think I’ll read it.
Novel Insights
August 19th, 2010 @ 1:49 pm

Great, passionately written review Claire. I’m definitely going to treat myself to a copy of this!
anothercookiecrumbles
August 21st, 2010 @ 11:19 pm

Am reading this book right now – obviously not doing the whole one-sitting thing (but then again, I’ve only read thirty pages). Think it’s this one and The Slap that have been on the top of my longlist to-read list!
Booksploring
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:02 am

This has been on my wishlist for awhile…Thanks for your review – I’m even more excited to read it now!
sakura
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:05 pm

This isn’t a book that would automatically pick up, mainly because of the subject matter which is disturbing and I’d need to be in a certain frame of mind to read, but you’ve written a wonderful review that’s kind of changed my mind a little. We’ll see.
Jessica
August 24th, 2010 @ 8:20 pm

Ive only just finished this so wanted to come back and comment as I skimmed over your spoilers before. I didnt expect there to be so much in the book like the issues of breastfeeding and the amount of interaction we have with our children. I found it interesting that the closeness shared between the mother and Jack started to become more stifling to the mother when they were out. I really enjoyed it, it is easy to read yes but I cant understand why some people are treating this like its a bad thing.
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September 9th, 2010 @ 2:09 pm

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