Unputdownable.

It was a lovely sunny weekend in Sydney so I decided to go to the park and start Room by Emma Donoghue which, I was assured, by both the bold print on the cover and a conversation with my mum, "I would read in one sitting". I thought this was pretty unlikely because I'm just far too easily distracted by interesting shaped twigs, talking on the phone, checking Facebook and all of the delicious breakfasty foods that are available on the way to and from the park. Predictably I didn't finish it in one sitting but it was so engrossing I was late for my Halloween party plans and when I got home that morning at 3am, extremely drunk, chicken burger in hand, the first thing I did was pick it up and start reading. 


Room is the story of a woman and her son being held captive against their will. Told from the perspective of an incredibly curious five year old boy who has never seen the outside world other than the images he sees on TV. This subject matter could so easily have descended in to cheap, tacky, manipulative territory but it's genuinely imaginative and unsentimental. Sometimes it's even funny. It still haunting me a little today. You may or may not read it in one sitting I just recommend that you read it sober.