jethrien

Title: Room
Author: Emma Donohue
Genre: Contemporary literary fiction
Thingummies: 4

Synopsis: This is the story of a teenager kidnapped and kept in a shed for seven years. The trick is, it's told from the perspective of her five-year-old son, who has never left the shed.

Thoughts: Well, this is one of the more disturbing things I've read in awhile.

It's brilliantly innovative and exceptionally cleverly done. Deeply, deeply creepy, too.

Jack's entirely life has been spent locked in a furnished shed. He's very smart and articulate, and has a tv so he's not completely ignorant. But to him, the outside world is entirely make-believe. Each item in Room is a named, singular object--Rug, Plant, Meltedy Spoon are all the only real ones of their kind in the world and are all beloved friends.

Watching what in any other context would be a complete horror novel through the innocent eyes of a small child makes the story a compelling, fascinating narrative instead of mere voyeurism. The reader understands a lot more than Jack is capable of, of course, which oddly preserves his innocence.

The story does start to drag some after they manage to escape. Inside Room, the writing and pacing are tight--outside those confines, the author doesn't quite seem to know what to do with her characters. And the last line, while elegant, is far too articulate and self-aware to match Jack's voice.

This isn't torture porn in the slightest, but it isn't for the faint of heart. Very little is shown, but an awful lot is implied. It's beautiful and fascinating and very well done, but enough to give you some nightmares.