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Room  By  cover art

Room

By: Emma Donoghue
Narrated by: Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Suzanne Toren, Robert Petkoff
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Publisher's summary

The story of a mother, her son, a locked room, and the outside world.

It’s Jack’s birthday, and he’s excited about turning five.

Jack lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures 11 feet by 11 feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real – only him, Ma, and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside....

Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other.

©2010 Emma Donoghue (P)2010 Hachette Audio US

Critic reviews

"Emma Donoghue's writing is superb alchemy, changing innocence into horror and horror into tenderness. Room is a book to read in one sitting. When it's over you look up: the world looks the same but you are somehow different and that feeling lingers for days." (Audrey Niffenegger)
" Room is one of the most profoundly affecting books I've read in a long time. Jack moved me greatly. His voice, his story, his innocence, his love for Ma combine to create something very unusual and, I think, something very important.... Room deserves to reach the widest possible audience." (John Boyne)
"I loved Room. Such incredible imagination, and dazzling use of language. And with all this, an entirely credible, endearing little boy. It's unlike anything I've ever read before." (Anita Shreve)

What listeners say about Room

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Like a car crash you cannot look away from

I have rarely heard a better production made with more care. This book is an excellent narrative told from the viewpoint of a child born into the captivity of a 12 x 12 room. It also makes us look at the superficiality of our culture and the extraordinary things that ordinary people can achieve if beset by hardship. In this case a woman who is kidnapped and forced to live in captivity for 7 years. If I get snowed into my house for 2 days I start freaking out, so I do not really want to imagine what this character has had to endure before we end up meeting her and her wonderful son Jack.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

absolutely loved it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

after listening to this version i have chosen this book for my book club to read i could not put it down, it even inspired me to go running so i could keep listening!!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

i loved jack such a stoic wee boy!

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

the narrators were great they made the story really come to life

If you could rename Room, what would you call it?

i woudlnt, and i love that its just 'room' and not 'the room' you need to read it to understand why

Any additional comments?

fab read it!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and original book

This is a remarkable book. First of all, it is SF-like in creating an entirely different world, the one the boy constructs (with the aid of his mother???s explanations) to rationalize the very strange environment he finds himself in - which is not at all strange to him, as it is the only one he knows. But, much more than this, it is also an absorbing and thrilling adventure, and an impressive story of maternal love, full of emotion but not at all sentimental. A really great listen, though at first I found the high-pitched narration of the boy a bit jarring. But the story was so good that I soon got over that and was drawn in completely.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magnificent

Captivating story, beautifully written. Performance of this audiobook was outstanding and extremely entertaining! I loved every second of it and finished it in 2 sessions!

Thank you!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book is so good it's a freak!

Books like these only come by once in an eon, especially when the audiobook version is read so damn well, it just couldn't be better. There are so many layers of meaning in this book it gives you pause to reflect a long time after you finish reading it. It's about freedom and love, and ultimately about the human spirit's ability to transcend and move forward from one's own worst fears, memories and experiences. This book should be read by everyone.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Perfectly written and narrated as well

This was a very interesting book which I couldn't stop listening to for a minute. It gave me the creeps when I imagined someone having to spend their childhood being locked up in a tiny room but on the other hand it described the amazing courage and hope that the main character Jack and his Ma showed throughout their ordeal. I loved Ma's creativity and Jack's perspective on the world as the book is told in his voice.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable for a different listen.

This is one of the few books that I listened to in two days as it was entrancing.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very nice

It was narrated beautifully. But I think we, as a society, are ready to be over the fake accents. That's my only complaint.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poignant

An excellent production - the performances in this reading are excellent and really help you to understand the story
As for the story, it's hard to comprehend being locked in a room for more than 5 years, let alone being born into that environment and thinking that's all there is to the world
Although a sad story, I really enjoyed this and would highly recommended it

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • S
  • 03-20-16

Compelling

a sad story of love and endurance, with some brilliant observations of the world by a child

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