Room by Emma Donoghue

[Freudian Slit]

Has anyone read this? It's a new book that's about a young woman who's been kidnapped and is being kept (over a period of years) in some psychopath's shed. (Very Jaycee Duggard, except this woman is about 19 when she's kidnapped.) It's actually narrated from the POV of Jack, the son the woman gives birth to, who is now five.

It also reminded me of the Collector--though a lot more frightening. Partly because it's more violent/dangerous but also because it's from the POV of someone who's grown up in captivity and has basically grown to love his prison.

Has anyone else read it? I don't want to give too much away in case people haven't.

[jjimm]

I haven't read it but I heard a long interview with the author on the radio the other day. It was inspired by the Fritzl case rather than the Duggard one.

I'm not sure I want to read it to be honest - sounds really depressing. Is it worth it?

[Freudian Slit]

I think it was. It is definitely disturbing, and usually I can read graphic stuff and not bat an eye. I yawned through Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Silence of the Lambs didn't bother me. This felt way more real and scarier, though. But it's a great book all the same. I really felt like I was there. It's a book that sucks you in.

[TheMerchandise]

This book is popping up everywhere recently and I've been intrigued.

One question: The narrator is the woman's young son, correct? Does his "voice" throughout the book come across as natural or really gimmicky?

[Freudian Slit]

I thought it was pretty natural. He has weird ways of referring to inanimate objects like they're people. Like Lamp or Wardrobe. Some might find it cutesy but I thought it worked out okay for the most part.

[TheMerchandise]

Well, I do that in my real life, so I think I can get past that. Thanks.

[Freudian Slit]

One thing I also thought was cool is the way that the experience that his mother is going through is filtered through the five year old's understanding. That is, she'll do things that he doesn't understand but takes for granted. (Going up to the skylight and screaming at the top of their lungs at a certain time every day--trying to get someone to hear them. But the boy, Jack, just thinks they're doing it for fun.)

[corkboard]

I just put this on my 'to read' list a few days ago. There are 4 or 5 books ahead of it so considering the limited time I have to read, I might not get to it for quite a while.

[Jennyrosity]

Originally Posted by jjimm

I haven't read it but I heard a long interview with the author on the radio the other day. It was inspired by the Fritzl case rather than the Duggard one.

I'm not sure I want to read it to be honest - sounds really depressing. Is it worth it?

Oh god, jjimm, read it. Read it now. Go on, I'll wait.

Are you done yet?


It's excellent. Yes, the subject matter is bleak, but it's beautifully written, and absolutely gripping A review I read said there's a point about half way through when you'd fight anyone who tried to take the book off you, and that's so true.

And yes, the young boy's "voice" sounded completely real to me (granted, I don't have kids), and one of the things that makes the book so intruiging to read. To him, this is is all there is to the world, and he's quite happy with it, which make the glimpses you get of his mother's (who has worked so hard to make him this happy, in spite of eveyrything) situation so much more chilling.

[Freudian Slit]

Jenny, wasn't it wonderful? In so many different ways it felt like it got to the heart of that situation. It's not like we can say, "That's so realistic" because this isn't a situation that has happened all that often. But it rang true to me.

And as Jack has never known the world, for him, this is a great life. I thought it was interesting that he knew so much about the world from TV but just never thought it was real.

Since you've read the book...

SPOILER:

Did the breast feeding thing confuse you at first? As late as five seems odd. Initially I thought, oh, he's breastfeeding for some kind of comfort. But then again, he didn't seem all that traumatized because he knew. Then after the end, it came to me--it's a lot harder to get pregnant when you're nursing.

Also, when the reporters were asking "Ma" why she didn't give up the boy for a better life and she got testy saying she wanted to keep her child, it occurred to me later that keeping him around would keep her from getting pregnant over and over again. And of course, in the end he ends up saving both of them.

[Jennyrosity]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Jenny, wasn't it wonderful? In so many different ways it felt like it got to the heart of that situation. It's not like we can say, "That's so realistic" because this isn't a situation that has happened all that often. But it rang true to me.

And as Jack has never known the world, for him, this is a great life. I thought it was interesting that he knew so much about the world from TV but just never thought it was real.

Since you've read the book...

SPOILER:

Did the breast feeding thing confuse you at first? As late as five seems odd. Initially I thought, oh, he's breastfeeding for some kind of comfort. But then again, he didn't seem all that traumatized because he knew. Then after the end, it came to me--it's a lot harder to get pregnant when you're nursing.

Also, when the reporters were asking "Ma" why she didn't give up the boy for a better life and she got testy saying she wanted to keep her child, it occurred to me later that keeping him around would keep her from getting pregnant over and over again. And of course, in the end he ends up saving both of them.

If I'm honest the

SPOILER:

breastfeeding thing both confused me and grossed me out, even though I could understand why she might still be doing it - I thought, as it was made clear they didn't really get enought food, that she was doing it to try and make sure he got sufficent nourishment.

I have to admit that it hadn't occurred to me that she was using it as a form of contraception, especially as I'm sure there's a reference at the very start of the book to "Ma" taking her pill, which I'd assummed was a birth control pill - though that confused me as well, because in the UK at least you can only get them on prescription, so how on earth would a single man be getting that for her without arranging suspicion?

[Freudian Slit]

SPOILER:

Was that a reference to one of the painkillers she was taking, for her teeth? I remember that was an issue because of the lack of access to dentists....

[Freudian Slit]

One other thing I wondered about--and which I wonder about when I think of the real life cases--is how you'd react to having to bear your captor's children. I mean, you've got no access to abortion, but would you be able to love that child? That question is addressed in the book but my first reaction would just be horror. Have the kid taken away or smother it Beloved style. The idea of being pregnant against my will under normal circumstances (i.e., consensual sex in a non prison environment) horrifies and nauseates me. But in a situation like this, the child would just be a constant reminder of this hell. "Ma" doesn't seem to have too much trouble loving her child, though she is depressed from time to time (understandable).

Jenny,

SPOILER:

I know that the news reporters ask her if she ever thought about not the prospect of not being Jack's mother and she gets really pissed off. But in a practical sense, it does make sense. Keeping Jack around did save her life. And breast feeding him till age five is probably what kept her from having to bear more children. Before Jack, she had another child who died during the birth process. And since she was so young it's likely she would have been fairly fertile...