that could have been used? Jack uses proper names for anatomy so this euphemism feels out of place, especially when it’s a euphemism that usually refers to getting laid. BUT Jack refers to this as “getting some” and there is something really creepy about a little kid lifting up his ma’s shirt to “get some”. Since they’re confined to the room and not eating the best foods, this seems a practical decision on Ma’s part for the extra nutrition. (Yes, I’m aware this is a minor, minor peeve.) Jack still breastfeeds at the age of five. By the end, Ma’s development is more interesting than Jack’s, but the reader is robbed of any real insight into her character because Jack does not understand the situation.Īlso, I have a peeve with some of the word choices in this book. The biggest drawback to this perspective is that the reader begins to crave a more adult perspective to explain the situation and flesh out characters. At times, his narration is clever and funny, but when he is feeling whiny or petulant, his voice becomes one of the most irksome ever penned. Jack has no one except his mother and tends to personify whatever is around, even assigning genders to the room’s contents. Saying “Maybe Door makes him up” sounds like bad English until you see it in print and realize that “Door” is essentially a name. I know a lot of people listen to audiobooks, but I don’t think this effect would work as well in an audio format. Jack makes proper nouns of the room’s contents. I think Ma doesn’t like to talk about him in case he gets realer.
Maybe Door makes him up with a beep beep and the air changes. Maybe half? He brings groceries and Sundaytreat and disappears the trash, but he’s not human like us. Men aren’t real except Old Nick, and I’m not actually sure if he’s real for real. Women aren’t real like Ma is, and boys and girls not either. This raises some complications for Jack since Old Nick routinely visits his mother and brings their supply of food, but Jack balances this out in his head: To make his life simpler, his mother tells him that only the contents of their room are real and that everything else is TV. This room is a notch above a plain cell as it’s outfitted with a bed, television, toilet, kitchenette, table, and wardrobe. He was born in the room and has never been out of it. When the story begins, Jack has just turned five. I mention the first caveat because the incessant voice of a five-year-old child can become tiresome long before the 321st page the second, because it’s a disturbing element and something you should know going in. Emma Donoghue’s Room was next, and there are two things you should know before reading: 1) It’s written from the perspective of a five-year-old boy 2) The woman (Ma) is being held in the room as a sexual prisoner. I’ve been reading a book a day this week to chip away at my queue.
0 kommentar(er)
