Ilja Kuiper V5B
Room
My expectations and first reaction
I decided to read ‘Room’ for my English assignment, because it appealed to me most compared to
other books in the reading list. My expectations for this book weren’t that high, because I thought
the book would probably have a boring storyline. I thought this, because I had read on the back of
the book that the main characters are locked up in a room and therefore not much happens.
My first reaction of ‘Room’ after reading a few pages was not very positive, because I discovered that
the book is told from a five-year-old boy. The use of words was therefore very different from what I
was used to in other books.
Summary
Jack is five years old and lives in a room with his mother since the day he was born. Jack’s mother
was eighteen years old, when Old Nick (this is how Jack and his mother call him) kidnapped her and
locked her up in a room in his backyard. Every night, Old Nick comes into the room to sleep with
Jack’s mother. Old Nick is Jack’s father, but Jack doesn’t know that. When Old Nick comes into the
room at night, Jack needs to sleep in the wardrobe, because his mother doesn’t want Old Nick to see
Jack.
Jack likes it very much in the room, because he doesn’t know about the existence of the rest of the
world and he plays games and watch TV every day. Unlike his mother, who wants to escape. In the
past she did many attempts to escape, but she never succeeded. One day, she comes up with a new
plan. Jack must pretend he’s dead so Old Nick brings him to a forest to bury him. On the way Jack has
to jump out of the car and look for help to free his mother. The plan succeeds and Jack and his
mother are free and Old Nick is found and arrested.
After the liberation, Jack and his mother go to the hospital to test their health. Jack has to process
many new impressions and has to get used to the world outside the room. In the hospital, Jack meets
his grandparents, uncle and aunt for the first time. Jack’s mother is very happy to see her family
again after all those years, but can hardly handle the media attention. She even tries to commit
suicide. Jack’s mother has to be treated for depression and therefore Jack stays with his
grandparents for a little while. He misses his mother very much. When his mother is cured, they buy
their own house and start a new life together.
Facts
- Title: ‘Room’
- Author: Emma Donoghue
- Editor: Noordhof Uitgevers BV
- Year of publication: 2012
- Total number of pages: 275
Room
My expectations and first reaction
I decided to read ‘Room’ for my English assignment, because it appealed to me most compared to
other books in the reading list. My expectations for this book weren’t that high, because I thought
the book would probably have a boring storyline. I thought this, because I had read on the back of
the book that the main characters are locked up in a room and therefore not much happens.
My first reaction of ‘Room’ after reading a few pages was not very positive, because I discovered that
the book is told from a five-year-old boy. The use of words was therefore very different from what I
was used to in other books.
Summary
Jack is five years old and lives in a room with his mother since the day he was born. Jack’s mother
was eighteen years old, when Old Nick (this is how Jack and his mother call him) kidnapped her and
locked her up in a room in his backyard. Every night, Old Nick comes into the room to sleep with
Jack’s mother. Old Nick is Jack’s father, but Jack doesn’t know that. When Old Nick comes into the
room at night, Jack needs to sleep in the wardrobe, because his mother doesn’t want Old Nick to see
Jack.
Jack likes it very much in the room, because he doesn’t know about the existence of the rest of the
world and he plays games and watch TV every day. Unlike his mother, who wants to escape. In the
past she did many attempts to escape, but she never succeeded. One day, she comes up with a new
plan. Jack must pretend he’s dead so Old Nick brings him to a forest to bury him. On the way Jack has
to jump out of the car and look for help to free his mother. The plan succeeds and Jack and his
mother are free and Old Nick is found and arrested.
After the liberation, Jack and his mother go to the hospital to test their health. Jack has to process
many new impressions and has to get used to the world outside the room. In the hospital, Jack meets
his grandparents, uncle and aunt for the first time. Jack’s mother is very happy to see her family
again after all those years, but can hardly handle the media attention. She even tries to commit
suicide. Jack’s mother has to be treated for depression and therefore Jack stays with his
grandparents for a little while. He misses his mother very much. When his mother is cured, they buy
their own house and start a new life together.
Facts
- Title: ‘Room’
- Author: Emma Donoghue
- Editor: Noordhof Uitgevers BV
- Year of publication: 2012
- Total number of pages: 275
