Room (novel)
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''Room'' is a 2010 novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue. The story is told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy, Jack, who is being held captive in a small room along with his mother. Donoghue conceived the story after hearing about five-year-old Felix in the
Fritzl case The Fritzl case emerged in 2008, when a woman named Elisabeth Fritzl (born 6 April 1966) told police in the town of Amstetten, Lower Austria, Austria, that she had been held captive for 24 years by her father, Josef Fritzl (born 9 April 1935). J. ...
. The novel was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and won the 2011
Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...
regional prize (Caribbean and Canada). It was shortlisted for the
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
in 2010, and was shortlisted for the 2010 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the
2010 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2010 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 13, and winning titles were announced on November 16.''Room'', was released in October 2015, starring Brie Larson and
Jacob Tremblay Jacob Tremblay ( ; born October 5, 2006) is a Canadian actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Canadian Screen Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award, tw ...
. The film was a critical and commercial success; it received four nominations at the 88th Academy Awards including for Best Picture, and won Best Actress for Larson.


Plot summary

Five-year old Jack lives with his 26-year old Ma in "Room", a secured single-room outbuilding containing a small kitchen, a basic bathroom, a wardrobe, a bed, and a TV set. Because it is all he has ever known, Jack believes that only Room and the things it contains (including himself and Ma) are "real." Ma, unwilling to disappoint Jack with a life she cannot give him, allows Jack to believe that the rest of the world exists only on television. Ma tries her best to keep Jack healthy and happy via both physical and mental exercises, keeping a healthy diet, limiting TV-watching time, and strict body and oral hygiene. The only other person Jack has ever seen is "Old Nick," who visits Room at night while Jack sleeps hidden in a wardrobe. Old Nick brings them food and necessities. Jack is unaware that Old Nick
kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
Ma when she was 19 years old and has kept her imprisoned for the past seven years. Old Nick regularly rapes Ma; Jack is the product of one such
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
. A week after Jack's fifth birthday, Ma learns Old Nick has been unemployed for the past six months and is in danger of losing his home to
foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...
. Feeling certain that Old Nick would kill them both before letting them free, Ma comes up with a plan to get Jack out of Room by convincing Old Nick that Jack is deathly ill. Jack is unable to conceptualize being outside of Room or interacting with other people, but Ma eventually convinces him to help her. When Old Nick refuses to take Jack to a hospital, Ma then pretends that Jack has died. Old Nick removes Jack, wrapped in a rug, from Room. Jack escapes Old Nick and manages to reach a friendly stranger who contacts the police. In spite of his inability to communicate effectively, Jack describes the route to Room to an officer to free Ma. The two are taken to a mental hospital, where they receive medical evaluations and a temporary home. Old Nick is found and faces numerous charges of abduction, rape, and child endangerment that will likely lead to 25 years to life in prison. While in the hospital, Ma is reunited with her family and begins to relearn how to interact with the larger world, while Jack, overwhelmed by new experiences and people, wants only to return to the safety of Room. Meanwhile, the case has attracted much attention from the public and the mass media, making it even harder for Jack and Ma to start leading a normal life. After a television interview ends badly, Ma suffers a
mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
and attempts suicide. While Ma is in the hospital, Jack lives with his grandmother and her new partner. Without the security of his mother nearby, Jack becomes even more confused and frustrated by his surroundings, including his new extended family, who, while kind and loving, often do not understand how Jack's limited experience, particularly his concept of personal boundaries, impact his behavior. After Ma recovers, she and Jack move into an
independent living Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. In the context o ...
residence, where they begin making plans for the future. Ma's growing independence conflicts with Jack's desire to keep her for himself, just as they used to be. At the same time, Jack himself is growing and changing as his world expands. Finally, Jack asks to visit Room. He and Ma return to the scene of their captivity, but Jack no longer feels any emotional attachment toward it and is able to say his goodbyes before he and Ma leave Room for the final time.


Awards and honours

* New York Times bestseller (Fiction, 2010) *
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
, shortlist (2010) * Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize (2010) * Indigo Books Heather's Pick (2010) * New York Times Best Books of the Year (2010) * New York Times Notable Book of the Year (Fiction & Poetry, 2010) * Salon Book Award (Fiction, 2010) * Governor General's Award shortlist (Fiction, 2010) *'' Publishers Weekly'' Listen Up Award (Audio Book of the Year, 2010) * Goodreads Choice Awards, Best Fiction (2010) * Alex Award (2011) *
ALA Notable Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...
(2011) *Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year,
Irish Book Awards The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. In 2018 An Post took over sponsorship of the awards from Bord Gais Energy. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. ...
(2010) *
Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...
(Canada and the Caribbean, 2011) *
Indies Choice Book Award The Indies Choice Book Award (formerly known as Book Sense Book of the Year 2000-2008) is an American literary award that was inaugurated at BookExpo America 2000. The American Booksellers Association (ABA) rededicated the award (previously kno ...
(Adult Fiction, 2011) * Orange Prize, shortlist (2011) *WH Smith Paperback of the Year, Galaxy National Book Awards (2011) * International Dublin Literary Award nomination (2012)


Adaptations

A
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and written by Donoghue, was made in 2015. The film stars Brie Larson, Joan Allen,
William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...
, Sean Bridgers, and
Jacob Tremblay Jacob Tremblay ( ; born October 5, 2006) is a Canadian actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Canadian Screen Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award, tw ...
. It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...
, after premiering at the Telluride Film Festival. The film began a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
on October 16, 2015, and was released nationwide on November 6, 2015, by A24 Films.McNary, Dave (29 July 2015).
"Brie Larson’s ‘Room’ Set for Oct 16 Release."
''Variety.com''. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
The film received widespread critical acclaim and won numerous awards. It received four nominations at the 88th Academy Awards including Best Picture,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
,
Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and winning Best Actress for Larson. Donoghue herself received honours for her adaptation of her novel, including
Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
at the
4th Canadian Screen Awards Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
and Best Scriptwriter at the
13th Irish Film & Television Awards The 13th IFTA Film & Drama Awards took place at the Mansion House on 9 April 2016 in Dublin, honouring Irish film and television released in 2015. Deirdre O'Kane hosted the film awards ceremony. Film Awards The nominations for the IFTA Film & Dr ...
. Donoghue also adapted her script for the stage.Room To Be Adapted
accessed 11/23/2016 The play with music premiered 10 May 2017 at the Theatre Royal Stratford East to largely positive reviews.The Guardian">


See also

*
Rape in fiction Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...


References


External links


Novel's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Room (Novel) 2010 Canadian novels Novels by Emma Donoghue Picador (imprint) books Canadian novels adapted into films Irish novels adapted into films Novels about rape Works about children Kidnapping in fiction