Room in Audiobook Junkies

Aug 13, 2011 Tim The Enchanter rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Both touching and haunting. A story of discovery, growth and hope. A must read.

5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2011 Darcy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, 2011, chick-lit

This is not an easy book to read. It will make you think what you would do in this situation and while it seems like it really couldn't happen in real life there are too many stories that have a similar feel to this that make it really hit home.

I really felt for Ma. She was in a horrible situation and I don't begrudge her anything she did to survive. I thought that she did a great job with Jack when they were in room. It was afterwards that I really wondered about her. But again she was doing th ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2011 Julie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub-reads

I can't really say I liked it. Having it be told from a 5 year old's point of view was really distracting from what should have been a really traumatic story. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 06, 2012 Tiffunee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: love-to-read

I enjoyed the book. I love the book being told from little Jack’s perspective. Ma did the best she could under the circumstances. Often falling short of Jacks need due to her, gone (episodes as Jack calls them). Jack and his Ma had a hard time functioning in socitey, but Jack began to catch on an love his new world.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2011 Debbie Stone rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction, kindle

It was a really interesting concept. I enjoyed it. A Great book club read.

1 like · Like · see review

May 20, 2011 Darlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

This book was on both Amazon.ca and Indigo’s Best Book of 2010. It was listed as Amazon's Best of the Month for September 2010. It was actually sitting at #1 on Macleans Fiction List for the week of March 8th, 2011.

It is a pretty disturbing book written from the perspective of a five-year old boy named Jack, who has spent his entire life in captivity. He was borne to a woman who was kidnapped at the age of 19 and held captive in a single room for seven years. Jack’s mom tries to make his life as ...more

Like · see review

May 27, 2011 Haze rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books-read, 2012-books-read, reread

One of the more thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time, Room addresses certain issues that most of us take for granted.

The book is written from the perspective of a five-year-old boy, Jack, whose whole life is “Room”. He’s never known any other world except the small room he was born in, where his mother has been kept in captivity for 7 years.

The man who holds her captive, and who fathered him, brings them their food and other items they might need. They have a TV where Jack sees thing One of the more thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time, Room addresses certain issues that most of us take for granted.

The book is written from the perspective of a five-year-old boy, Jack, whose whole life is “Room”. He’s never known any other world except the small room he was born in, where his mother has been kept in captivity for 7 years.

The man who holds her captive, and who fathered him, brings them their food and other items they might need. They have a TV where Jack sees things that are “real” and “not real”.

There are two parts to this book, the story of their lives in captivity, and then the story of after they’ve escaped. Both parts make you think.

The first part is pretty straightforward in that you wonder about how Jack’s emotional intelligence has been compromised by only knowing Room as his whole world, and only having Ma, and occasionally her captor, as the only other people in his world.

Although compelling, it’s the next part of the story that really makes me wonder. After Jack and Ma escapes, they both have to (re)integrate themselves into society, and of course, for Jack, his whole world turns upside down.

The thing that strike you, is although Jack and Ma were kept in captivity, the irony is that they were free to be themselves when their whole world was just them. Now that they are free, they no longer have the freedom to be themselves. They have to conform to the rules of society.

Jack has to learn manners and ways of speaking and addressing people in society. Ma can no longer breastfeed Jack because he’s five years old and society doesn’t approve. There are so many new rules to learn to be an accepted member of society.

Personally, I feel that breastfeeding is a good, healthy, natural thing and should be done as long as possible. Unfortunately, even though I feel this way, I probably still wouldn’t breastfeed my kids past a year, because I would worry too much about what other people think. I would, however, wholeheartedly support mothers who are braver than me and breastfeed however long they and their kids want to.

The point is, it makes me think… are we all just prisoners of society? But then again, who makes the rules? It’s really up to us, at the end of the day, to change the status quo. Certain things frowned upon years ago are acceptable now. Slavery was abolished, gay marriage is legal in certain parts of the world now, many other changes are happening… It’s up to us to become prisoners or not.

I highly recommend Room, because it is so profound on so many levels. But even if you only read it at its most basic level, it’s still a terribly fascinating book, and one that grabs you and makes you want to read more and find out what happens. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 27, 2010 Natasha Musa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Told from a 5-year old's point of view, Room is a touching tale of how a mother and her son survive years of captivity in a small room. Dark yet touching and memorable. A definite must read. ...more

Like · see review