Room

A Novel

By: Emma Donoghue

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren, Ellen Archer, Michal Friedman, Robert Petkoff

The award-winning bestseller that became one of the most talked about and memorable novels of the decade, Room is "utterly gripping...a heart-stopping novel" (San Francisco Chronicle). Held captive for years in a small shed, a woman and her precocious young son finally gain their freedom, and the boy experiences the outside world for the first time.

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating — a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

Simply wonderful!

I finished this within 36 hours, which is quite a statement for a homeschooling, business owner with 2 small children. Riveting. At times, Jack's monologues could have been cut a bit, but overall, I thought this was one of the best listens I've had in years. Incredibly believable detail in regard to Jack's developmentally appropriate reactions and interpretations of events. Suspense galore during the various escape plans. A character to be admired and revered in the case of Jack's mother, who is revealed to be quite human in the end. A fabulous tale of the human spirit and the beauty of children.

This is the #1 NOVEL of my many listens

I listened to this novel sometime ago. The novel is written so well, the plot is clear, the characters seem to walk among us, they could be a part of your or my life. The novel is a representation of today's society. The main character is kidnapped while she is walking on a college campus. The title is true in the truest sense of the definition found in the Webster's dictionary. As I write this review, three women and a child of one of the women, born while in captivity, are rescued after TEN YEARS. You have to listen to this novel. It so touched my heart and soul, that I will unconsciously think about it after all this time. I did read it twice and I will probably read it again. In my "opinion," this novel is better than any Jodi Picoult has ever written.

Must have been better in print.

The book must have been better in print. The audible version is narrated by a whiny voice pretending to sound like a child and it's extremely annoying. I would not recommend this version of this book to anyone. I kept on hoping the voice was only for the first couple of chapters for mood, but it's the entire book. I couldn't take it seriously.

Meh!

I never write reviews but I felt compelled after reading the ones for this book. TBQH Jacks' voice didn't bother me. I did take me a bit to get caught up with the narration but I have started to like it. What bothered me was Ma's voice. Man, it sounds just like Siri. very monotone and without any inflection.
I'm almost done with the book and then I'll watch the movie.

Good story but narration could use some work.

As I started listening to this story, I was put off a little by the voice of the 5-year-old boy being the main narrator. But, the more I listened, the more I got involved in the story and didn't mind the high pitched voice. I did find that the voices for some of the other characters were too similar and this bothered me somewhat. The story did keep me hooked but I found that there were certain sections that went on too long and other areas that could have used a bit more development. Because of the content of the story, I do not recommend this book for the weak hearted or someone looking for a feel good read/listen.