Blythe's Book 47: Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is a really compelling read. Both the narrative voice and the storyline are so original and I highly recommend this book-- even though it isn't exactly cheerful or light. Room is told from the perspective of five year-old Jack and centers on the highly restricted life he and his mother, only known as Ma, live. Jack was born in an eleven-by-eleven room, which he has never left. His mother was kidnapped by a rapist at the age of nineteen, and since then she has lived in a shed that was converted into, as Jack calls it, "room." Impregnated by her captor, she and her son now live in this tiny room, and make the best of it that they can. While this sounds horrifying, Jack has never known any different, and to him, this is simply his life. Told in his idiosycratic voice, Jack details their daily schedule, his emotions towards Ma and "Old Nick"-- his mother's captor-- and lets you into his world. The aspect of this story that really kept me involved is Ma's love for Jack-- the activities she dreams up, the ways she protects him, the lengths she goes to to make sure his life is as good as it possibly can be-- it is heartwrenchingly amazing. Somehow, even when you're busy feeling sorry for Ma and Jack, you're also completely envious of their imaginative, selfless world. Room is a world where love is enough. It made me realize how very little everything else matters.