Summary
Room is a 2010 novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue. Told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy named Jack, the story unfolds in a small, windowless, self-contained structure, referred to as "Room," where the young narrator lives with his Ma. To Jack, Room is the only world he has ever known, a place of safety and familiarity, encompassing the entirety of his existence. To his Ma, however, Room is a prison. She has been held captive in Room for the past seven years by Old Nick, the stranger who abducted her at age 19—and Jack’s biological father.
The story takes a significant turn as Ma, realizing their life in Room is unsustainable, concocts a daring escape plan, which depends on Jack's innocence and bravery. The plan's success thrusts Jack into the overwhelming reality of the outside world, a concept he only knows through television. The struggle of adapting to a vast new world brings both challenges and revelations for Jack and Ma, highlighting their indomitable spirit and the depth of their bond. Their journey from captivity to freedom explores themes of resilience, the bond betwwen parent and child, and the definition of a normal life.
Room was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. A film adaptation was released in 2015, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress her role as Ma. Depicting harrowing circumstances through an innocent narrator and his ingenious, fiercely protective mother, Room is a riveting thriller, an insightful exploration of the repercussions of trauma, and, ultimately, an inspiring survivor story.
Themes
Resilience and survival
The unbreakable bond between parent and child
A mother’s ingenuity to protect her child
The definition of normal
Adapting to new worlds and experiences
Impact of captivity on human psychology
Childhood innocence and perception of reality
Freedom vs. confinement
Effects of trauma and the recovery process
Setting
Room takes place in the early 21st century. The novel’s setting is starkly divided between “Room,” a single, small structure, like a shed, where a young woman known as Ma has been held captive for seven years, and the outside world, which remains unknown to her son, five-year-old Jack, for a significant part of the story. The specific geographical location of “Room” is not explicitly stated, though details suggest it is in a suburban or rural area near the home of Ma’s captor, and Jack’s biological father, Old Nick.
The story transitions dramatically as Ma and Jack execute a perilous escape, thrusting them into the real world—a place of immense, overwhelming opportunities and challenges. Post-escape, the hospital they are taken to serves as an interim setting, a transitional space between their past—the only world Jack has ever known—and an uncertain future. Later, as they move to live with Ma's family, the larger geographical setting begins to take shape, presenting challenges of reintegration and the contrasting complexity and vastness of the world outside “Room,” which both Ma and Jack must learn to navigate.
The novel straddles these two settings—Room and the outside world–using them to explore themes of freedom, confinement, motherly love, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable circumstances.
Characters
Jack: A five-year-old boy who has spent his entire life in "Room," a small, windowless, self-contained structure, with his Ma. The novel is told from his perspective.
Ma: Jack's mother, who has been held captive in Room for seven years. She is dedicated to making life for Jack as normal and enriching as possible in their confined space, and she ultimately plans their escape.
Old Nick: The antagonist, who kidnapped Ma when she was 19 and has kept her a prisoner in Room, regularly visiting and raping her. He is Jack’s biological father.
Grandma: Ma's mother, who becomes a part of Jack's life after he and Ma escape from Room.
Leo: Grandma's new partner, who tries to help Jack adjust to the world outside Room.
Critical reception
Room by Emma Donoghue widely received favorable reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle describes it as “utterly gripping … heart-stopping,” and The New York Times Book Review praised it as “a truly memorable novel, one that can be read through myriad lenses–psychological, sociological, political. It presents an utterly unique way to talk about love, all the while giving us a fresh, expansive eye on the world in which we live.”
FAQs
What inspired Emma Donoghue to write Room?
The novel was inspired by the case of Elisabeth Fritzl, specifically the story of five-year-old Felix, one of the children she gave birth to during her years of captivity in the basement of her family’s home, where she was repeatedly raped by her father. Emma Donoghue conceived Room after hearing about this real-life horror.
From whose perspective is Room told, and why is this significant?
Room is told entirely from the perspective of Jack, a five-year-old boy who has spent his entire life in captivity. This perspective is significant because it provides a unique and innocent view of a grim situation, highlighting themes of love, resilience, and the discovery of the world beyond his confined space.
What is the significance of the book's title?
The title "Room" refers to the confined space where Jack and Ma were held captive, which was Jack's entire world for the first five years of his life.
What are the main themes of Room?
The novel explores themes of resilience, the bond between mother and child, the power of imagination, and the process of adapting to a broader world after experiencing trauma and confinement.
How do Jack and his mother escape their captivity?
Jack's mother, Ma, devises a bold escape plan that involves convincing their captor, Old Nick, that Jack is deathly ill and later pretending Jack has died, leading to Jack being removed from Room. Jack then escapes and seeks help to free his mother.
What challenges do Jack and his Ma face after their escape?
Jack and Ma struggle to adapt to the outside world after years of captivity, dealing with media attention, trauma, and adjusting to life with Ma's family. Ma also suffers a mental breakdown and attempts suicide.
How was Room critically received?
Room was critically acclaimed, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
Has Room been adapted into other media?
Room was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 2015, starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. The film won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actress for Larson. It was also adapted into a stage play.
What makes the book unique or memorable?
Room is told from the unique perspective of a five-year-old boy who has never known life outside of captivity, making it a poignant and powerful exploration of resilience, love, and the human experience.
Quotes
“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
“Everybody's damaged by something.”
“People don't always want to be with people. It gets tiring.”
“If I was made of cake I'd eat myself before somebody else could.”
“Stories are a different kind of true.”
“The world is always changing brightness and hotness and soundness, I never know how it's going to be the next minute.”
“It’s called mind over matter. If we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. When a bit of me hurts, I always mind.”
Quick facts
Emma Donoghue was inspired to write Room by the horrific true story of Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter Elisabeth a prisoner in the basement of their home for 24 years. Over the years, Elisabeth was repeatedly raped by her father and bore several children, who were taken away. Donoghue was particularly struck by the situation of Elisabeth’s youngest child, Felix, who was born and raised in captivity, never once seeing daylight, until the age of five, when they were finally discovered and rescued.
The book is narrated from the perspective of a five-year-old boy named Jack, who has spent his entire life in the 11x11 foot "Room" with his mother.
Emma Donoghue conducted extensive research on child language acquisition and development to accurately portray Jack's unique voice and perspective.
To help capture the claustrophobic setting, Donoghue taped off an 11x11 foot space in her home and spent time confined within those boundaries while writing.
Room was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize in 2010.
Room on several major awards, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the Caribbean and Canadian region, and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
The film adaptation starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay was released in 2015 to critical acclaim. Room earned several Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay for Donoghue; Larson took home the Academy Award for Best Actress.
About the author
Emma Donoghue is an Irish-Canadian novelist, playwright, literary historian, and screenwriter, renowned for her versatility across various genres. Her works encompass contemporary novels, historical fiction, short stories, literary history, and plays for both stage and radio. Her novel Room (2010), an international bestseller, was a finalist for the prestigious Booker Prize and adapted into a film, for which she wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay. Her other acclaimed novels include Hood (1995), Slammerkin (2001), Life Mask (2004), Frog Music (2014), The Wonder (2016), Akin (2019), The Pull of the Stars (2020), and Learned by Heart (2023).
Born in Dublin in 1969, Donoghue was the youngest of eight children in a family deeply immersed in academia and literature. She received her BA in English and French with honors from University College Dublin and went on to earn a PhD in English at Cambridge University, focusing on friendship in 18th-century fiction. Her time at Cambridge proved pivotal not only in shaping her literary voice but also her personal life—while there, she met her future wife, Christine Roulston. The couple eventually settled in Canada, and Donoghue became a Canadian citizen in 2004.
Her writing, known for its depth, meticulous historical research, and engaging narratives, has earned Donoghue widespread acclaim and accolades, including the Stonewall Book Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Emma Donoghue currently resides in London, Ontario, with her wife and their two children.
