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.

Brought Room and the outside world to Life

Would you listen to Room again? Why?

I have listened to it twice - first when it came out, then again when i purchased it on Audible. the voice of jack is very childlike, which has aggravated many reviewers, but also honestly adds to its realism. You can feel his mother and grandmother's frustrations with him... but as an audiobook, it works as a multi-voiced performance.

What did you like best about this story?

The little things that Jack and his Ma had to do to survive in Room. the realism of how small a world Jack grew up in, and his ever-expanding knowledge of the outside world around him. In some ways, it reflects every child's excitement and frustration and growing up; in others, it's entirely unique.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

the only narrator I am familiar with is Suzanne Toren, but I plan on checking out Ellen Archer - although I will probably always think of her as Jack's Ma.

Any additional comments?

if you can manage the child's voice of Michal Friedman as Jack - which gets to be a bit much in large doses - this book is a good book.
Emma Donnaghue did a great job of reflecting the complex yet simple life that Jack and his mother led. Jack is incredibly mature in some ways and incredibly naive and immature in others by necessity. She could have made Room a horrible place, with graphic depictions of Jack envisioning his mother's abuse by his captor, but chose to allow his mother to be a protective mother bear, who would not allow her child to see what she lived through. Many topics were handled with sensitivity, yet with the brutal honesty of a child. Well done!

Love Love Love

I could listen to this book over and over. It is AMAZING. The voices are wonderful and I really enjoyed the unique perspective of Jack. I can't recommend Room enough.

Brilliant story, brilliant performances.

Would you consider the audio edition of Room to be better than the print version?

Absolutely! Although people recommend the print version, I cannot imagine not hearing this book. The narrator for Jack is perfect.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jack.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I did. I think it is so interesting and well written. It is one of the best books I have ever listened to.

Amazing Narrators, Heartbreaking Story

This book is wonderful. I think it is probably harder to listen to then to read, but if you can handle it, it's well worth the pain. The narration is simply lovely, and I would get lost in the world of Room. I might have powered through it more quickly, but it made me cry a lot so I would only listen to it in the car on the way home.

Stick with the narrator

If you could sum up Room in three words, what would they be?

Stick with it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Room?

Rolled up in the rug in the truck. Spoiler alert, so I won't go on.

Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes. I thought the grandmother was particularly good, as was Norene. On the whole, however, I suspect the book is better read than listened to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but thank goodness my schedule did not allow, as it was so intense! Often I would have to reset my own stress levels, as well as get back to reality, after listening for a couple of hours.

Any additional comments?

On one level I agree with the other comments about the grating quality of the child's early voice. Either I got used to it, or it got better. If you stick with it, then the book is so good that the voice ceases to matter. I do believe that the voice got less grating as Jack matured - by the end of the book it was no longer grating.

Not knowing how long the book was, I kept thinking it was going to end right after the great event, but it kept going. I'm glad it did, because there was a whole further issue of adjusting to a different life - both of them. Room is brilliant with a lot of likeable characters.