Room (novel)
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''Room'' is a 2010 novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue. The story is told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy, Jack, who is being held captive in a small room along with his mother. Donoghue conceived the story after hearing about five-year-old Felix in the Fritzl case. The novel was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize regional prize (Caribbean and Canada). It was shortlisted for the
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
in 2010, and was shortlisted for the 2010
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...
and the 2010 Governor General's Awards. The film adaptation, also titled ''Room'', was released in October 2015, starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. The film was a critical and commercial success; it received four nominations at the 88th Academy Awards including for Best Picture, and won Best Actress for Larson.


Plot summary

Five-year old Jack lives with his 26-year old Ma in "Room", a secured single-room outbuilding containing a small kitchen, a basic bathroom, a wardrobe, a bed, and a TV set. Because it is all he has ever known, Jack believes that only Room and the things it contains (including himself and Ma) are "real." Ma, unwilling to disappoint Jack with a life she cannot give him, allows Jack to believe that the rest of the world exists only on television. Ma tries her best to keep Jack healthy and happy via both physical and mental exercises, keeping a healthy diet, limiting TV-watching time, and strict body and
oral hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's oral cavity clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and adopting good hygiene habits. It is important that oral hygiene be carr ...
. The only other person Jack has ever seen is "Old Nick," who visits Room at night while Jack sleeps hidden in a wardrobe. Old Nick brings them food and necessities. Jack is unaware that Old Nick kidnapped Ma when she was 19 years old and has kept her imprisoned for the past seven years. Old Nick regularly
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
s Ma; Jack is the product of one such
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
. A week after Jack's fifth birthday, Ma learns Old Nick has been unemployed for the past six months and is in danger of losing his home to
foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...
. Feeling certain that Old Nick would kill them both before letting them free, Ma comes up with a plan to get Jack out of Room by convincing Old Nick that Jack is deathly ill. Jack is unable to conceptualize being outside of Room or interacting with other people, but Ma eventually convinces him to help her. When Old Nick refuses to take Jack to a hospital, Ma then pretends that Jack has died. Old Nick removes Jack, wrapped in a rug, from Room. Jack escapes Old Nick and manages to reach a friendly stranger who contacts the police. In spite of his inability to communicate effectively, Jack describes the route to Room to an officer to free Ma. The two are taken to a mental hospital, where they receive medical evaluations and a temporary home. Old Nick is found and faces numerous charges of abduction, rape, and child endangerment that will likely lead to 25 years to life in prison. While in the hospital, Ma is reunited with her family, learning that her parents have divorced and her brother now has a family of his own. Ma begins to relearn how to interact with the larger world, while Jack, overwhelmed by new experiences and people, wants only to return to the safety of Room. Ma's father rejects Jack because he was conceived by rape. Jack also learns that before he was born, Ma gave birth to a stillborn daughter. Meanwhile, the case has attracted much attention from the public and the
mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
, making it even harder for Jack and Ma to start leading a normal life. After a television interview ends badly, Ma suffers a mental breakdown and attempts suicide. While Ma is in the hospital, Jack lives with his grandmother and her new partner. Without the security of his mother nearby, Jack becomes even more confused and frustrated by his surroundings, including his new extended family, who, while kind and loving, often do not understand how Jack's limited experience, particularly his concept of personal boundaries, impact his behavior. After Ma recovers, she and Jack move into an independent living residence, where they begin making plans for the future. Ma's growing independence conflicts with Jack's desire to keep her for himself, just as they used to be. At the same time, Jack himself is growing and changing as his world expands. Finally, Jack asks to visit Room. He and Ma return to the scene of their captivity, but Jack no longer feels any emotional attachment toward it and is able to say his goodbyes before he and Ma leave Room for the final time.


Reception

On ''The Omnivore'', based on British press, the book received an "omniscore" of 3.5 out of 5. According to ''
Book Marks ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and '' Electric Literatur ...
'', the book received a "positive" consensus, based on twelve critic reviews: seven "rave", one "positive", one "mixed", and three "pan". In November/December 2010 issue of '' Bookmarks'', the book received 4 out of 5 stars, with the critical summary saying, "Or, as one critic put it, "Such a story, such a mother" (''Entertainment Weekly'')". ''Culture Critic'' gave it an aggregated score of 88 percent from British and American press.


Awards and honours

* New York Times bestseller (Fiction, 2010) *
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
, shortlist (2010) *
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...
(2010) * Indigo Books Heather's Pick (2010) * New York Times Best Books of the Year (2010) * New York Times Notable Book of the Year (Fiction & Poetry, 2010) * Salon Book Award (Fiction, 2010) *
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
shortlist (Fiction, 2010) *''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' Listen Up Award (Audio Book of the Year, 2010) *
Goodreads Choice Awards The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by crowdvoting, users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most boo ...
, Best Fiction (2010) *
Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Since 2002, the Alex Awards have been administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of th ...
(2011) * ALA Notable Book (2011) *Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year, Irish Book Awards (2010) * Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Canada and the Caribbean, 2011) * Indies Choice Book Award (Adult Fiction, 2011) * Orange Prize, shortlist (2011) *WH Smith Paperback of the Year, Galaxy National Book Awards (2011) * International Dublin Literary Award nomination (2012)


Adaptations

A
film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
, directed by
Lenny Abrahamson Leonard Ian Abrahamson (born 30 November 1966) is an Irish film and television director. He is best known for directing independent films ''Adam & Paul'' (2004), ''Garage (film), Garage'' (2007), ''What Richard Did'' (2012), ''Frank (film), Fra ...
and written by Donoghue, was made in 2015. The film stars Brie Larson, Joan Allen,
William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...
, Sean Bridgers, and Jacob Tremblay. It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and N ...
, after premiering at the
Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado, during Labor Day, Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 51st Telluride Film Festival, 51st edition took place on August 30–September ...
. The film began a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
on October 16, 2015, and was released nationwide on November 6, 2015, by A24 Films.McNary, Dave (29 July 2015).
"Brie Larson’s ‘Room’ Set for Oct 16 Release."
''Variety.com''. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
The film received widespread critical acclaim and won numerous awards. It received four nominations at the 88th Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and winning Best Actress for Larson. Donoghue herself received honours for her adaptation of her novel, including Best Adapted Screenplay at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards and Best Scriptwriter at the 13th Irish Film & Television Awards. Donoghue also adapted her script for the stage.Room To Be Adapted
accessed 11/23/2016 The play with music premiered 10 May 2017 at the Theatre Royal Stratford East to largely positive reviews.The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
">


See also

* Fiction about rape


References


External links


Novel's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Room (Novel) 2010 Canadian novels Canadian novels adapted into films Fiction about mother–son relationships Novels with unreliable narrators Irish novels adapted into films Kidnapping in fiction Novels about rape Novels about violence against women Novels by Emma Donoghue Picador (imprint) books Works about children