Recommended on LT and a group read for Goodreads.

I very much appreciated the experiemental nature of this book, and recognized the considerable challenges the author faced both in presenting the story through the voice of a 5 year old and in the story being confined for half the book to a room 11 by 11, but in the end there were some things that didn't quite work for me. Jack's language was often too young for his age, especially given his talent with mathematics and that his mother always spoke to him like an adult. Later in the book this was explained, but I was not totally convinced.

One of the things I missed in this book was physical descriptions of people and places. I assume this was because Jack was the narrator and that his face and hers are so familiar to him that he doesn't think about them, but I truly missed knowing what people and things looked like and as a result I never really connected with either Jack or his Ma because in my head they had no faces.

All in all this was a very interesting, at times fascinating, read and I would recommend it to others with the caveat that one needs to have patience with the plot.

On its way to bookczuk.

This fetched up in a package today. Just in time too. It's a rainy day and I'm out of reading. Thank you so much.

I just put this book on my "wow" shelf here at goodreads -- partly because of the whole subject of the story, partly because of the author's rather daring (in my opinion) decision to write a book about a very emotional subject entirely from the point of view of a five year old boy. There were times, when my experience in pediatrics intruded upon the story, breaking in and interrupting the narrative of Jack, but on the whole, found the story both heartbreaking and compelling. I also trusted my friend, Maggie, who recommended the book as a "very interesting, at times fascinating, read and I would recommend it to others with the caveat that one needs to have patience with the plot." With that, I concur completely. I also trusted Emma Donoghue to write a fascinating book that would probably have a somewhat difficult subject matter. Ms Donoghue didn't disappoint either.

As to the story itself, I was fascinated how Ma created a world for Jack in what should have been a nightmare situation. She loved and protected him with equal fierceness. She gave him structure, routine and a nurturing environment. Pretty amazing as she was only 19 herself when first locked away. If the whole book had taken place in that 11 X 11 room, I probably would have gotten impatient, but Donoghue ups the ante by changing the environment for Jack and Ma (I don't want to say too much because it's quite easy to give spoilers on this book.) Their experiences in the second half of the book, and in their new environment, fascinated me, particularly from a medical point of view. There were physical, psychological, and personal happenings that I found myself thinking I never would have thought about anticipating that. (And made me realize that once upon a time, when I still was working, I was sharp enough to think about, but these days of retirement seem to have dulled a portion of my brain.)

The other thing of note is that for almost the entire first part of the book I was placing this book in the UK, because I know that's where the author lives. There were clues it was in the US, but instead of recognizing them, I just thought it odd that whatever it was translated into British custom with equal ease. But I did catch on before Jack and Ma left Room. Jack's language reminds me of the private language we often develop with loved ones combined with that kind of mis-hearing of things -- like thinking the line in God Bless America is "stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with the light from a bulb" or poor Elton singing "She’s got electric boobs, and no hair too…" Our brain struggles to make sense of what it thinks it's seeing or hearing.

Rebekkila has expressed an interest in this. If I think I can get to meetup tomorrow without infecting people (unlikely) I'll give it to her then, along with the other stack of books I'm holding for her.

Really bummed if I can't go to the meetup, because it's at Madra Rua, a wonderful Irish pub here in town. I'm sure some Guinness would cure me.

After a month of being struck by not one, but three separate illnesses, there's finally hope that I'll see Rebekkila this week and pass the book along to her.

I received this from Bookczuk today while we were out releasing books for a challenge. It will be going to Kiptrix next.

This book is going to stay with me for a while, and that doesn't happen often. What impressed me most is that there were so many directions that the book could have gone and the way it was written was to me the best. She could have hated Jack for being half on Ole Nick's but it was the opposite. I like that she wasn't crazy and she was a fighter. I liked that Jack was a hero. I even liked that her father couldn't bear to be around Jack.
Great Book
This is going to Kiptrix at the Sunday meet-up.

I am bringing this to the meet-up.

I'm looking forward to reading this as soon as I finish my current book. Thanks, ladies!

I am so bummed that I never wrote a note when I read this book years ago! I finished it on March 20, 2011, and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, but I never wrote anything more. Must have been a busy time! I remember thinking it was very well done, and I didn’t have a problem with the narrator being a five-year-old, as some did. (Perhaps our book group discussed it.). I gave it a rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Placed in the LFL box near the pool, just off Carolinian.