I hate when I finish a book in the middle of a long trip. But this time, it was rather fortuitous, because at the BWI Hudson News, I spied a copy of Room, which was on my “to read” list based on the write up in the New York Times.
And it did not disappoint.
Room is the story of an intense mother/son bond in one of the most horrific situations imaginable. The residents of the 11 X 11 room are Ma and a small boy named Jack, the book’s five-year old narrator. Ma has been living in the room for seven years, held prisoner as a sex slave by a sadistic monster known to Jack as “Old Nick.” Jack is the terrible byproduct of that imprisonment.
But somehow, mother and son have managed to make a living hell palatable. Even though he’s trapped and can never go outside, Jack’s days are highly structured, with times set aside for exercise, play, reading and crafts. And the two have actually created a unique world with just the basics in their environment. Jack grows attached to things like all children do, but his things aren’t Transformers or GI Joe action figures, they’re more basic items like a remote control, a snake made out of strung together egg shells and the living room rug.
As Jack reaches his fifth birthday, Ma decides that long-term, the room is not going to be a suitable environment for a growing child, and she hatches a plan for escape. This for me was the most intense part of the book, because the plan involves Jack getting rolled up in the rug and playing dead so that Old Nick will take the “corpse” outside for burial. The entire plan hinges on Jack being able to free himself, jump from a moving car and getting help to free his mother. And this is tough because Jack has never been outside and doesn’t know the environment, has never spoken to a single soul other than his mother and is very young and completely terrified.
Miraculously, he succeeds.
Now the challenge is adapting to life in the real world, outside of the room. Jack’s never been in the sun, doesn’t know what grass is, has never been to a shopping mall, doesn’t understand the concept of family and has no idea how to relate to people other than his mother. Meanwhile, Ma is traumatized and clinically depressed after her ordeal, and the family has trouble even accepting Jack considering who his father is.
Much like The Road, Room is a story about the strength of the parent/child bond, which grows stronger and more intense given the magnitude of their circumstances. In fact, in Room, there are points when the bond becomes inappropriate, as evidenced by Jack’s continued breast feeding. But that was basically their only luxury in the room – one another and their ability to express affection.
