When I heard the movie adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s Room was being released soon, I wanted to read it right away before the movie came out and ruined it for me. Does anyone else feel that way about books being turned into movies?
This was my next read off this list published by the Huffington Post.
(Image from amazon.com)
This book was powerful. It is told from the point of view of Jack, a five-year-old, who has lived in a small room his entire life. His mother was kidnapped and impregnated by her captor. She raises Jack as best she can given the tragic circumstances.
Jack has many characteristics of a regular five-year-old. I do not want to spoil the plot, but I will tell you that the horrifying concept of the book is lightened a bit by a more palatable conclusion.
I was a little concerned that when writing the book from a five-year-old’s point-of-view the author might take more creative license than I like as far as grammar and punctuation are concerned, but the book is very well-written. The horrific subject matter is juxtaposed with the light-heartedness of a five-year-old, which made this overall a very interesting book.
Here is the updated list. The first five books on this list are the ones I had read prior to discovering the list.
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Drink by Ann Dowsett Johnston
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Her by Christa Parravani
NW by Zadie Smith
Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
A HOUSE WITH CHARACTER 