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Room

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Room

By: Emma Donoghue
Narrated by: Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Suzanne Toren, Robert Petkoff
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About this listen

A major film starring Brie Larson.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize.

Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room by Emma Donoghue is a story of boundless maternal love. Read by a full cast of narrators.

Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.

Jack lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures 11 feet by 11 feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real – only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there’s a world outside . . .

Told in Jack’s voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible...

Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.

©2010 Emma Donoghue (P)2010 Hachette Audio US Literary Fiction Thought-Provoking Feel-Good

Critic Reviews

"Emma Donoghue's writing is superb alchemy, changing innocence into horror and horror into tenderness. Room is a book to read in one sitting. When it's over you look up: the world looks the same but you are somehow different and that feeling lingers for days." (Audrey Niffenegger)
" Room is one of the most profoundly affecting books I've read in a long time. Jack moved me greatly. His voice, his story, his innocence, his love for Ma combine to create something very unusual and, I think, something very important.... Room deserves to reach the widest possible audience." (John Boyne)
"I loved Room. Such incredible imagination, and dazzling use of language. And with all this, an entirely credible, endearing little boy. It's unlike anything I've ever read before." (Anita Shreve)
"I’ve never read a more heart-burstingly, gut wrenchingly compassionate novel . . . As for sweet, bright, funny Jack, I wanted to scoop him up out of the novel and never let him go. In him, Donoghue has created 21st-century fiction's most uniquely loveable voice. She deserves to win this year's Man Booker Prize." ( Daily Mail)
"extraordinary power of Donoghue's utterly gripping story which, although not essentially just hers, has never been told in such a way before." ( Mirror Book of the Week)
"In filling this book with things that are both truly horrific and rather lovely, Emma Donoghue has achieved a work that is deeply unsettling on every level. It is a strange paradox that a book about imprisonment and torture should have become an arena for discussing the proper care and love of children. I think I am glad to have read it." ( Financial Times)
"What saves this beautifully nuanced book from being in any way a voyeuristic reaction to true crime is less the descriptions of captivity than the inevitably changing nature of the child / parent relationship, which Donoghue explores here so minutely, recognisably and exultantly." ( Sunday Telegraph)

What listeners say about Room

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Audible.com.au reviews

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Profile Image for Christy McDonald, Sydney Australia

Extraordinary Story!

I couldn't stop listening. The child's perspective is heart warming but also enlightening. Beautifully written.

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Profile Image for clare et.al

just wow

great tale of love and change. fantastic character agency. well researched, with a very strong finish

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Profile Image for Susan

Unique and moving

The perspective of this story from a child raised in such restricted and traumatic circumstances is touching. In some ways I found this more poignant as it does not revel in the sensational aspect of this crime. The child's view and behaviour reveals more about the impact and implications of this crime upon others than is usually considered. The strength of this young woman's character is amazing. A great read.

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

A gripping story

My first audiobook, and I was hooked. Great performances from all the cast, especially Michal Friedman. The story was vivid and insightful, raising interesting questions about parenting, PTSD, and the trauma of growth. Minus one performance star for the shocking attempt at an Australian accent.

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

the utterly unique perspective

I loved the creativity of an adult story being told from a child's glittering perspective

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Profile Image for Emily

Interesting

The story is told from the perspective of a 5 year old; while this is insightful, I found it really tedious to listen to at times.

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Profile Image for Sally

All the feels

A brilliantly performed audio book. Such a powerful piece of writing with so many emotional responses.

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Profile Image for Mrs

Incredible story, very worth hearing

I struggled a little with the child voice as the primary narrator on this book, but persevered because I knew that hearing the story from Jack's perspective was the author's intention. I'm so glad that I listened to the end. It was not the easiest book I've listened to this year, but the story was incredible, believable and very important to help understand the experiences of people who have had the trauma of being held hostage over time.

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Profile Image for Kylie

A facinating insight

I read this after a recommendation from a friend who said she had never read a book like it. I didn't read any any reviews or the blurb before starting this audiobookl so it was surprising and a bit disturbing as the story unfolded. Although tedious at times I think the narration was well done, not sure how I would have gone reading the hard copy? My house is beautifully clean and tidy as I couldn't stop listening until I was finished, an added bonus!!
Well worth the read.

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Profile Image for deb

I laughed and I cried! Artfully told by author and narrator.

Everything about this audio production and novel is excellent. How the author sustained the perspective of Jack throughout the novel is truly an art. The narrator of the audio had me both in tears and laughing. I'm not sure I will be able to be in public when I watch the movie as I found the story emotionally challenging. A truly extraordinary novel that comes to life in this audio version.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.