Room by Emma Donoghue

I'm not really a bookworm but i like reading whenever i feel like it. To tell you the truth i have never tried Murakami (somebody should pester me about it). I like fictions and sometimes biographies. Hmm..i think i kinda dig historical stuff too. But not sci-fi, please. English literatures are the best :) Sometimes it's embarrassing that i don't really know most famous authors but what the heck, i should just stick to what i like rather than read what others like.

Last Sunday, i had 2 hours to spare while my sister was having her usual facial treatment (you can't fly if you have skin breakout) so i wander about in Wangsa Maju, got lost and managed to get to Wangsa Walk (neighbourhood mall) and i was so happy when i found Popular bookstore. So i walked around the shop, not knowing which section i should check out and then i came across the bestsellers rack. And i saw Room.

Written by Emma Donoghue, Room tells the story about a mother and son's experience staying locked up in a room for seven years. The interesting part is that the story is from Jack's point of view. Donoghue managed to create that naive way of thinking that you can totally believe that's how a 5-year old would think (or maybe i'm just that easy to manipulate).

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack,Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Quite a fascinating read, made me forget the hot sun i had to face to get to Popular (when actually there was a shorter way, without the sun).

Room by Emma Donoghue