Room book emma donoghue6/9/2023 And really, what is a story of a kidnapped girl locked in a shed with her long-haired innocently precocious boy if not the realisation of the most macabre fairytale?ĭonoghue has not been so crass as to make light of their plight: at times it's almost impossible not to turn away in horror. They do "phys ed" every morning, keep to strict mealtimes, make up poems, sing Lady Gaga and Kylie, and most importantly, Ma has a seemingly endless supply of stories – from the Berlin Wall and Princess Di ("Should have worn her seatbelt," says Jack) to fairytales like Hansel and Gretel to hybrids in which Jack becomes Prince Jackerjack, Gullijack in Lilliput: his mother's own fairytale hero. They have a TV and Jack loves Dora the Explorer, but Ma limits the time they are allowed to watch it for fear of turning their brains to mush. Ma has created characters out of all aspects of their room – Wardrobe, Rug, Plant, Meltedy Spoon. Every family unit has its own language of codes and in-jokes, and Donoghue captures this exquisitely. To read this book is to stumble on a completely private world. "Ma" has clearly spent his five years devoting every scrap of mental energy to teaching, nurturing and entertaining her boy, preserving her own sanity in the process.
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