Trigger warning: abduction, sexual abuse, physical assault, rape.
People seem to be fascinated with tragedy. Every time a celebrity dies, we’re heartbroken. And whenever a story breaks about a person (or group of people) who has been abducted and held hostage for years until miraculously escaping or being rescued, we’re fascinated. (Insert Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt theme song here.)
That’s why Room was so fascinating to me. Not only does it tell the story of a young woman who is abducted and held hostage, but it also tells the story of her five-year-old son, Jack, who was born as a result of the regular rapes she endures at the hands of her captor. And it tells it from Jack’s perspective.
He loves Dora the Explorer and Spongebob, and doesn’t realize that some things on the television are, in fact, real. He truly believes that he, Ma, and Old Nick (their captor) are the only people in the world.
Many authors could have written this book and royally screwed it up, but Donoghue really sells it. As you’re reading, you really believe a five-year-old is talking to you.
Room really hooks you from the beginning, because it’s hard to tell how the story will end. Once I got to the last page, I was almost angry. I didn’t want it to end; I wanted to keep reading about Ma and Jack and Old Nick.
Here’s the scary part of the book: it’s loosely based on a true story. In 2008, a 42-year-old Austrian woman named Elisabeth Fritzl told police she had been held captive by her father for 24 years. He had a secret cell in the basement of the family’s large home. He held her captive there while physically assaulting, sexually abusing, and raping her. She had seven children and one miscarriage with her father.
Terrifying, right? See what I said about us being fascinated by tragedy?
The thing that really sets Room apart is seeing how a harrowing case like this could affect the mental development of a young child. Ma wanted to hide the outside world from Jack, but these lies could caused long-term mental problems for him.
That’s one of the main reasons I really wanted Room to keep going, even after the last page. I wanted to know what happened in his long-term development.
Either way, I’d highly recommend it, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Rating: 
Have you read Room? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments!
I read this book a few years ago and it was so hyped up I had high expectations.
Though I did think it was good, I was a little bit let down because everyone made it sound like there was a huge plot twist and I just kept reading and reading and it never happened lol.
But so interesting that it is loosely based on a true story, I did wonder that!
That’s so true! I remember several people telling me there would be a twist but I never really found one. I still loved it though!
I keep seeing this book on the “must read” table at Barnes & Noble and I want to read it but I’m equally terrified I won’t be able to sleep. I remember reading the book, “The Door to December” by Dean Koontz when I was 15 and I can’t tell you how it ended but it started with someone having been locked in a dark room, in water for years and it was some form of experimental torture? I keep thinking I should re-read that as an adult to see if I would be equally disturbed.
Haha! Room isn’t the type of book that will give you nightmares. At least, it didn’t come off that way to me. All of the abduction-type stuff happens in flashbacks, so it’s not like you’re getting a first-hand account of it.
Definitely going to add this to my reading list!
Awesome! What else is on your list, Cynthia? I’d love to know!
Wow. It sounds intense. I think I need to read a happy book first…my book club picks have all been a little on the dark side. You did a great job with the review!
Thanks, Shann! 🙂 I’ve been really into darker books lately… first Game of Thrones, then Room, now I Am Malala. Luckily I’ve got Neil Patrick Harris’s autobiography up next! 🙂
It sounds like the kind of book I like to read. I like intense stories that make you invest in the characters. Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Same! You definitely get invested in these characters. Let me know if you read it! 🙂
I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book, but so far I’ve decided that the topics it deals with are too tough for me – especially with a kid involved!
That’s totally fair! It’s not something worth risking.