Why You Need to Read "Room"

by Erin Maloney

Room is a fictional book written by Emma Donoghue that

details the life of a young boy named Jack living in a tool shed

with his mother, who he calls Ma. The book begins on the

morning of Jack’s fifth birthday, and we get to see how he lives

his routine life with Ma, who was kidnapped by a man they call

Old Nick seven years ago. Jack was born in the tool shed and

lived his entire life in there, so clearly his perception of the world

is different than that of a child who’s lived a regular life.

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What make this book so brilliant is the amount of thought

that Emma Donoghue puts into the development of Jack. Jack is

curious and scared of the world outside of the shed. When he and

Ma escape, he asks questions just like any other child. However,

coming from a five year old, these questions make the reader

really ponder and question why things are the way they are. One

thing that really struck me is when Jack is living with his

grandparents for a short time, he notices how “Outside” has so

many things but nobody can remember their names, where they

come from, or what they’re for.

This book also addresses gender norms and how

unnecessary they are. At one point, Jack asks Ma why all the

boys have short hair and the girls have long hair. To him, there

are no rules to being a boy or a girl. Also, while shopping with his

aunt and uncle, Jack sees a Dora backpack and decides he wants

it. His uncle shoes him a toy that’s meant for boys and tries

telling Jack what he actually wants is that toy. But, as previously

stated, gender norms don’t exist to Jack and when he begins to

learn about them, he doesn’t understand why they exist.

Room is a book that is intriguing and insightful. When I read

it, I was amazed at how well written and thoughtful it was.

However, this article hardly does it justice and you need to read it

for yourself.