A heartwrenching and powerful read

I don’t usually read a lot of contemporary literary fiction but I’m always looking to broaden my horizons and so I happily picked up Emma Donoghue’s Room when it was selected by the Imperial Book Club as our latest read.

The novel is narrated in first person by Jack, a five-year-old born after his mother was abducted and abused by a man who he calls Old Nick. The two are kept confined in the titular room, actually a converted shed in the man’s garden, with Jack’s mother letting the boy believe that this is the entire extent of the world in order to help him deal with the difficult situation.

While certainly very absorbing and not short of moments of tension, this is, for the main part, a subtle and introspective look at how being trapped and isolated from society for over half a decade can affect a person. The subject matter is dealt with both realistically and sensitively. You really get a real feel for the emotions of the protagonists and only the most heartless of readers could not strongly empathise with them by the end of the novel.

What really positively surprised me about the Room is that it continues for almost two hundred pages after what in many other books would be considered the climax. Donoghue shows herself to be a truly superior writer by going on to consider the consequences of her resolution to the problems set up in the first part of the novel while at the same time providing a whole different viewpoint on the established characters. There is a clear divide between the two halves of the book, but Donoghue’s skill shows through in that they flow together – with the second part feeling like a natural progression of the first.

The major criticism of those who did not like this book has been Jack’s narration, with some calling it distracting and annoying while others saying that the vocabulary and sentence structure is not really believable for a five year old. I can only say that I found the book perfectly readable and convincing. Sure, the grammar is somewhat nonstandard, adding to the feel that this is really the internal monologue of a small child, but I got used to very quickly.

In fact, for me, the narration is one of the main selling points of the book. It provides a viewpoint that interesting and rarely seen in fiction. Jack is free of many of the preconceptions and prejudices held by adults and so looks at the world in a more innocent and much clearer way.

Room is an intelligent and powerful book. It is no surprise that it has won numerous awards and received widespread praise. If you are looking for a serious read be sure to pick up this book – you’re sure to find it a deeply rewarding experience.