#10 Room, by Emma Donoghue

 


Booker Prize: Shortlisted 2010

Plot Time and Place: In the backyard of a kidnapper's house, inside a locked room, present time.

Opening sentence: "Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra."

Plot summary: Jack's mom was kidnapped five years ago, and is being kept locked up in a tiny room. She got pregnant with Jack because she was raped by the kidnapper. She has lived with Jack inside the tiny room for the past 5 years (Jack's whole life). She tries to give Jack some kind of routine and a basic education. The novel is told from 5 year old Jack's perspective. 

Review: I am not one to tear up easily with a story in a book. But this one got to my heartstrings. The love a mother has for her child, the way the story is told through a child's eyes. It's beautiful. And the movie is great too.

Rating:  4/5

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