I head about Room after Brie Larson got some acting nominations for her portrayal of Ma in the 2015 movie of the same name. My husband, however, isn’t a fan of movies that are depressing for the sake of being depressing so I opted to read the book and seek the movie out when it inevitably shows up on Netflix or Amazon Prime.
I couldn’t put it down. Literally.
Room is told from the perspective of five-year-old Jack; Jack lives in a room with his mother and relies on Old Nick for food and other items. Nick kidnapped Ma when she was nineteen and has kept her in the room for the last seven years. After Jack’s birthday Ma tries to explain their situation to Jack; she devises a plan to escape that is successful. The last third of the book is about Jack trying to adapt to a world he was raised to believe only existed in TV. Despite the escape being her idea, Ma has a hard time adjusting to life on the outside as well- particularly her newfound fame.
There are some difficult topics discussed in Room, primarily that Jack is the product of years of rape, but since the story is told through the eyes of a child all the “trigger warning” topics are vague. Despite the heavy handedness of the subject matter Room is an excellent read.
I really want to read this one but I’m absolutely terrified to — kids in books make me cry way too easily. Don’t have children. They break you.
I know exactly what you mean, badkittyuno. After I had my kids, my reading tastes did change and I’m now really sensitive to kids being harmed in books. No kidnapping or dead kids for me. Despite that, I did really enjoy this book. So if you can get it from the library or borrow a copy so you’re not really out any $, I’d say it’s worth it.
Wow, kid(s) do change reading habits don’t they? I first tried to read Room when my son was still a baby and I just could not do it. I finally picked it back up again much later and loved it. While I’m generally not one for spoilers, it is much easier getting through the beginning portion of the book knowing that they will get out. There is also something that is so uplifting about Ma’s love for Jack (even during the really hard beginning part).