"Room"

School and work have been so hectic lately! I have barely had time to study and write quality papers for my four classes with all of the drama I have had at work, but after much frustration, midterms ended, and I flew to Hawaii. However, the night before I flew to Hawaii I read the most amazing book that I have come across in years (it is that good.)

Please read Emma Donoghue’s, "Room."

Synopsis: Ma and Jack live in Room. Room is an eleven foot by eleven foot shed in the backyard of their captor's house. The shed that is "Room" to Jack is soundproofed, and hidden by hedges; the door to Room is steel and has a digital code that is only known to "Old Nick," the nasty rapist that captured Ma when she was nineteen.

The book is narrated by Jack, the lovable and intelligent five year old that has been raised by his doting mother under the false pretense that they are the only people on Earth that are real, and everything Outside is outer space. The narration from start to finish is in the words of Jack, everything that he experiences is filtered through the mind of a five year old, and he expresses the events as such. Everything he has ever known becomes important, a rug is Rug, proper nouns throughout the book convey the importance attached to the things in our lives that we know and love, though they may be inanimate. Some of us name our cars (mine is Warren Sapp,) Jack names and loves everything surrounding him. They have T.V., Rug, Plant, Egg Snake, and Wardrobe. They brush their teeth, play games, and exercise. One day, Ma tells Jack that Outside is real, and that Old Nick is a bad man who stole her, and they must escape.

After their harrowing escape (which had me breathlessly turning the pages) Jack is faced with a whole new world. He is faced with vast choices, new sounds, and an overwhelming fear that his mother will leave him. Was Jack better off in Room? Is ignorance bliss? After all, he was safe in room, bees didn't sting him, people didn't yell, and the sun didn't burn, maybe Room wasn't so bad- maybe Jack wants to go back?

This book left me wondering where Jack and Ma were after I closed the cover, and I still find myself thinking about them as if they are real people. The book calls into question many great subjects, such as, how much choice is a good thing?

For me, "Room" made me question my own materialism, and contemplate how important the things around me actually are. I have realized that what makes my car, "Warren" is the memories that I have had in "him." My car isn't a person, it is a car, and I need to pay more attention to the people inside of it, and the places it takes me, because if they were gone, Warren would just be another Toyota Yaris. I highly recommend this book, and if any of my friends want to borrow it, just let me know!

On another note, later I will be posting quite the lengthy account of my trip to Maui, and posting tons of pictures!