By Matthew J. Barbour
RoomThe novel, written by Emma Donoghue, is told from Jack’s point of view. Jack has just turned 5. He lives with his mother in “The Room.” It’s an 11-by-11-foot space that he never leaves. He has no idea of the world around him or his situation. All he knows is to avoid “Old Nick” and ask for his “Sunday present.”
The situation is bad. His mother has been held captive for seven years. The room she is held in is a prison from which she cannot escape. She has tried and suffered. The physical and emotional scars linger. She does everything in her power to protect Jack from the monster who rapes her every night. The situation is getting worse and the end may be imminent. She needs to escape.
Yet how could a child like Jack make sense of all this? This was the world he was born into. It was the only world he had ever known. The concept of things outside his “room” seemed as fantastical as the images he saw on television. Were these things not real, or were they?
Room is a psychological horror film aimed at women. In terms of the overall plot, the story is relatively cookie-cutter, featuring a captive scenario in which a man holds a young woman captive and abuses her. However, the perspective of the story – through the eyes of a five-year-old child – is unique.
Nothing is explicitly written in the book because Jack does not understand the vulnerable situation he is in. It is from this revelation that many of the horrors arise. Jack hides in the closet and counts the number of times the bed creaks. He does not understand that his mother is being raped outside. Other times, Jack complains about his mother repeatedly turning the light on and off. He does not understand that she is trying to use the light to signal for help.
The presentation is brilliant but confusing at times. This is not surprising as the world can often be confusing to a child. Jack is trying his best to understand what is happening in front of him. He just doesn’t have the experience or the brains to understand.
Donoghue has carefully woven a frustrating, yet at times oddly inspiring, story of one boy’s harrowing experiences. Room This is not a story about good and evil, but a story about the unbreakable friendship between a boy and his mother.
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score: 4/5
