Room by Emma Donoghue

Jen's choice for this month was Emma Donoghue's much acclaimed Room, which she had picked up in the local bookshop because it looked like an interesting read. The book is narrated by Jack, in his own words, with vivid descriptions of the room and it's contents. Jack lives by routine and rules despite his bizarre situation, and uses counting as a coping stategy.

June thought initially she wouldn't like the book but really enjoyed it. Janet loved the way Jack's mother maintained his innocence. Marghie pointed out that the book could have become bogged down in darker realms had it been narrated by the mother. Kathleen took a while to get into the story as there was little indication on the cover as to what the book was about. Denise observed that Jack only had one other person to share his experiences with. Morag found the escape plan alarming reading -so many things could have gone wrong. There was some discussion on how the book was based on several hostage situations rather than any particular one. Denise had come across a floor plan of Room when reading reviews. Janet and Karen loved the mother/child relationship -Jack gave his mother the will to survive. Jack's vocabulary shows a lack of outside influence and is very believable. Some discussion followed on life outside Room and the issues which interaction with other people raised. All in all, a good read and a book worth recommending to others.