alpettit's review against another edition
4.0
This book was interesting but very sad, obviously, in concept. It ends hopeful and you wonder how the two will continue to move forward. The perspective of the child made it easier to deal with the topic. Not the most uplifting book, but we'll done.
hannah_50's review against another edition
3.0
This book was good. It was not written about a topic that I am used to reading about. The story line was very interesting. Wasn't one of my favorite books but I liked it. It was an interesting read.
kerryanndunn's review against another edition
4.0
Unique, unexpected, thrilling, sad, horrifying. These are the first five adjectives I thought up to describe this book. This is the fastest I've read a book in years, pretty much all of it in two sittings. It's completely original and propulsive and you just have to get to the end!
ajlawford's review against another edition
5.0
Room is a story about a woman held captive and has a baby to her captor. The baby is named Jack and she raises him in the room where they are contained for years. What makes this story unique is that it is written from the point of view of five year old Jack. The writing and sentence structure is simplistic, exactly as if a child wrote it.
I picked this up on Audiobook because it won the 2011 Audie Award for best multi voiced performance. What makes the audiobook unique is that the main narrator is a real child. This made the entire experience very immersive and utterly fascinating.
Having been a victim of crime myself, I’m often disappointed in how trauma is represented in books. Room is the exception and handles the delicate topic with an honesty and sensitivity I’ve not encountered before.
Overall I would absolutely recommend this book, but only as an audiobook. I think the childish writing would get annoying to read with eyes. Also, having seen the movie first, and loved it, I would recommend listening to the book first, because spoilers.
I picked this up on Audiobook because it won the 2011 Audie Award for best multi voiced performance. What makes the audiobook unique is that the main narrator is a real child. This made the entire experience very immersive and utterly fascinating.
Having been a victim of crime myself, I’m often disappointed in how trauma is represented in books. Room is the exception and handles the delicate topic with an honesty and sensitivity I’ve not encountered before.
Overall I would absolutely recommend this book, but only as an audiobook. I think the childish writing would get annoying to read with eyes. Also, having seen the movie first, and loved it, I would recommend listening to the book first, because spoilers.
impactmack13's review against another edition
3.0
this book definitely leaves you with a new perspective. it makes you think differently and about things you don't foresee. that's why it was so good for me. while the POV was different and presented new ideas, it wasn't fun to read the voice of a 5 year old. the book is also too long for the small amount of actual content it has. still worth the read
greebytime's review against another edition
5.0
Holy crap. So good, it shocked me. This book crushed me while I read it, and will haunt me for a longtime now that I am done.
joannabooks23's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this a 5 but I could never read it again. It was an incredible story and I held my breath through most of it.
ththalassocracy's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, so I had heard bits about this book before actually reading it. That, combined with the title, made me have a fair guess as to what it was about. What I didn't expect though, was for it to be narrated through the child's eyes.
Jack knows about Room. His mother is there, they eat there, they sleep there and they do everything in Room. Sometimes a man brings them things, Jack is not to be around when this happens. And he knows that sometimes his mom goes away in her head and doesn't enjoy Room as much as he does. In fact, he is quite disturbed when she mentions leaving Room as there shouldn't be anything Outside that isn't already in Room or TV.
Obviously Jack is pretty oblivious to his surroundings and how limited they are. That's how his mom chose to raise him and keep him safe. So watching him discover the Outside is like seeing a child grow up from the beginning, only with more intelligence than an infant normally has. And it is disturbing. And his mother, well she's definitely a sympathetic character. In fact, I sympathized with her more than she probably even needed as I just wanted her to be able to take a break from her kid and his incessant questions. It's commendable that she stayed sane with everything that was going on.
I found the story to be too slow in the beginning and too fast in the end. It just didn't seem very realistic on its timeline, especially in the second half. And some of the things that the characters did, well I would have thought there'd be a lot more security and restrictions than there was. But then again I have never personally been through an ordeal like the one in Room so it's hard to say what actually happens aside from the clips one hears on the news. I wasn't very fond of Jack being the narrator. I know it's a "novel" way of writing the book and understanding what's going on. But like a child, Jack rambles quite a bit about details I just don't care about. And after several chapters of it I found those details to be tiring. There was so much that wasn't included in the book because it was from a child's point of view as well. At the very least I would have liked to have seen it bounce between Jack's point of view and his mothers. To fill in those gaps.
But it is what it is and while Room is unique, I don't think that it's fantastic. It takes a sad topic, puts a different spin on it, and makes for a quick read on a subject that is more serious in nature.
Room
Copyright 2010
321 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Jack knows about Room. His mother is there, they eat there, they sleep there and they do everything in Room. Sometimes a man brings them things, Jack is not to be around when this happens. And he knows that sometimes his mom goes away in her head and doesn't enjoy Room as much as he does. In fact, he is quite disturbed when she mentions leaving Room as there shouldn't be anything Outside that isn't already in Room or TV.
Obviously Jack is pretty oblivious to his surroundings and how limited they are. That's how his mom chose to raise him and keep him safe. So watching him discover the Outside is like seeing a child grow up from the beginning, only with more intelligence than an infant normally has. And it is disturbing. And his mother, well she's definitely a sympathetic character. In fact, I sympathized with her more than she probably even needed as I just wanted her to be able to take a break from her kid and his incessant questions. It's commendable that she stayed sane with everything that was going on.
I found the story to be too slow in the beginning and too fast in the end. It just didn't seem very realistic on its timeline, especially in the second half. And some of the things that the characters did, well I would have thought there'd be a lot more security and restrictions than there was. But then again I have never personally been through an ordeal like the one in Room so it's hard to say what actually happens aside from the clips one hears on the news. I wasn't very fond of Jack being the narrator. I know it's a "novel" way of writing the book and understanding what's going on. But like a child, Jack rambles quite a bit about details I just don't care about. And after several chapters of it I found those details to be tiring. There was so much that wasn't included in the book because it was from a child's point of view as well. At the very least I would have liked to have seen it bounce between Jack's point of view and his mothers. To fill in those gaps.
But it is what it is and while Room is unique, I don't think that it's fantastic. It takes a sad topic, puts a different spin on it, and makes for a quick read on a subject that is more serious in nature.
Room
Copyright 2010
321 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
teodora_paslaru's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book so much! I don`t know if the fact that I am now a mom helped me enjoy this book more, but I think that it did. Surely, it was not what I expected it to be, but it only made me like it more.
I thought that I was going to read a book about the life of a woman in captivity and her escape, but it was, actually, a book about the way a child sees the world and how his mother`s love is what he needs the most in order to grow up. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me better understand my own kid, better understand his fears, his needs, his development. Beyond the idea of captivity and sexual abuse, it touched issues that are important for a parent like prolonged breastfeeding, co-sleeping and other stuff about kids` education. What I liked best was that it showed the world our kids are discovering and how we take, sometimes, things for granted. Definitely a great read!
I thought that I was going to read a book about the life of a woman in captivity and her escape, but it was, actually, a book about the way a child sees the world and how his mother`s love is what he needs the most in order to grow up. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me better understand my own kid, better understand his fears, his needs, his development. Beyond the idea of captivity and sexual abuse, it touched issues that are important for a parent like prolonged breastfeeding, co-sleeping and other stuff about kids` education. What I liked best was that it showed the world our kids are discovering and how we take, sometimes, things for granted. Definitely a great read!