Photo by Jayla Anderson: Jessica Yanes holding the book “Room” by Emma Donoghue
By Jayla Anderson ’26
“Room” by Emma Donoghue is by far one of the most exciting and attention-grabbing books ever written.
“Room” is a 336-page psychological fiction novel published in 2010. Donoghue got the idea for the plot of her book from the alarming and gut-wrenching Elisabeth Fritzl kidnapping case in Amstetten, Austria. The Fritzl case hit the media in 2008. Elisabeth Fritzl, born in 1966, alerted Amstetten investigators that she had been held captive for 24 years by her father, Josef Fritzl, born in 1935. During the captivity, Fritzl had sexually violated his daughter countless times. The assault resulted in the birth of seven children. One of the children passed away shortly after birth, three of the children lived with Fritzl and his wife in the main area of the home, and the other three children remained in captivity with their mother. During this time, Fritzl’s wife was deceived into believing these children were orphans. After twenty-four long years, Fritzl was finally arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.
“Room was a true page-turner,” Jessica Yanes, an English teacher at Derby High School stated. “Room” is a story narrated by a 5-year-old little boy named Jack. His mother is known in the story as “Ma.” Jack has lived his entire life in a single room with Ma after she was kidnapped, held captive, assaulted, and impregnated by a man called “Old Nick.” Jack has never stepped foot outside of the room where he lives. He believes that whatever is outside of the room is “outer space.” Ma created the idea of this outer space world to protect Jack from the truth of the situation they are in. Ma teaches Jack about the world in subtle ways, such as through books and games. Through all of this, Ma is still enduring repetitive abuse from Old Nick. “Her resilience was so impressive,” Yanes says.
Throughout the book, the reader is taken on the journey of Ma and Jack designing plans to get out of the room. In the end, the two were successful in their efforts of trying to escape and had to relearn life outside.
Donoghue does an amazing job of creating a comforting feeling through the dynamic of the mother-son duo. As the book progresses, the tone moves from calm but almost eerie to a more suspenseful and chaotic tone. Though the narration was clear, Donoghue’s writing style didn’t leave a lasting impact or offer anything particularly unique. Yanes says, “I don’t think the writing style stood out to me but the story definitely was memorable,” Emma Donoghue is known for her psychological, domestic, and crime fiction novels such as “Hood,” “Akin,” “Frog Music,” etc. A highlight in this book is definitely when Jack and Ma’s plan begins working and Jack has to play dead to successfully execute the plan.
Personally, my favorite part of the book was Jack and Ma’s plan finally working and the adorable description Jack gives about what the world outside of the room was like. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read books about family dynamics and trauma, with happy endings. This book is available at your local Barnes & Noble, Target, Amazon, Etsy, and other online bookstores.
The Raider Press 