Book Review : Room

Room – by Emma Donoghue
I wanted to read this book for a while now. I am glad I could.The story is innocent and dark at the same time. A five year old boy Jack stays with his Mom in a small dark room that has a small tub, kitchen, bed, wardrobe and a TV. This is their world. They never go out and see the world outside. For Jack, the outside world doesn’t even exist. 
Even for nothing else to do, they have a routine that they both follow religiously. In that confined room, Jack’s mother teaches him all that she could to help him blossom. She teaches him discipline, good habits, how to pray, do math; improve his creativity to mention a few - all this without letting him know that there is a world outside this room. Their only connection with the outside world is Old Nick, who comes in every night to see his Mom, takes the trash out next morning and brings them the basics for a living as part of Sunday treats. But Jack has never met Old Nick – all he has done is try seeing him through the slits of the wardrobe he usually hides in when Old Nick comes.
The book opens with Jack’s fifth birthday and how his world begins to expand after that. How he gradually finds out the story of his Mom , the Old Nick , why they are where they are , that the room that they live in is not a real life , that there’s a real world  where they ideally belong to outside of the room and it’s for real.
His Mom suspects that their life is in danger and they need to escape before it’s too late. But it’s not easy. She has already tried all the things she could think of even before Jack was born and had failed. But this time since Jack was a big boy already it was his responsibility to save them both.
I personally liked that the way the entire story is narrated by Jack – they way he sees things, perceives them. How for him, Ma and the room are his entire world. The way his Mom is trying to bring him up. The bond between the two is depicted beautifully. How Jack truly believes that he is a part of her and knows no other way of living, the way he carries her broken decayed tooth all the time. At no point does it get boring, not even when the boy describes the everyday routine in much detail.
What happens to the boy and his Mom? Who is Old Nick? I don’t want to give away the story for those who are keen to read.All I would say is that it’s a story of courage and survival!
Go ahead and give it a try.