Genre : Novel
ISBN : 9780330519021
Publisher : Picador USA
Publication : 2011
Pages : 400
Binding : Paperback
Plot:
Jack is five. He lives with his Ma. They live in a single, locked room. They don't have the key. Jack and Ma are prisoners.
My Rating : ☆☆☆☆☆
Review :
situation sets in - it gets scarier when you realize, the reason for their confinement is a psychopath - who had strange inhuman ways of punishing them - it's totally unnerving!
Plot:
Jack is five. He lives with his Ma. They live in a single, locked room. They don't have the key. Jack and Ma are prisoners.
My Rating : ☆☆☆☆☆
Review :
A book I picked out of my mother in law's shelf - what intrigued me was the synopsis at the back cover - "Jack is five. He lives in a single, locked room with his Ma."
This two line synopsis was the shortest and most powerful one I had read till now.
This book is narrated by the male protagonist Jack, who we know from the synopsis, is a five year old kid - thus the grammar is imperfect, as it should be for a five year old - this simple fact, being taken care of by the author, lends a kind of sincerity to the narration.
Apart from the synopsis, when I started reading the book, what attracted me most was the description of mother and son's day to day life - being a new mother to a lovely boy, it gave me numerous ideas on how to raise my kid so that he is smart and how to keep him busy with interesting games on those rainy days.
*Spoiler Alert*
But then, as we delve deeper into the novel, the horror of the
But then, thankfully there's an escape - which is like halfway in the book. And then you might wonder, what would make the rest of the book??? But then, the troubles continue - for the mother has to once again get accustomed to living in the society and the kid, who knew no world beyond 11 feet square room and has talked to none except his mom, has to learn how to survive in this 'outside' world.
With most of the book, drawing a melancholy, the end - to be most precise, the last couple of paragraphs, are actually happy paragraphs. They give the book 'a happy ending' where they are finally able to bid adieu to the room and hopefully the bad memories associated with the room.
It's a fast paced novel, except for in the middle where it gets a bit of a drag only till there is another twist to pull you right back into the story. It's a disturbing novel, but one that would touch your heart like no other - it's not exactly your holiday read, but this book definitely deserves to be read. Jack deserves a chance to let his story be known...
Happy Reading!
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