Room: A Novel


Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
191
Narrator
34
Release Date
September 2010
Duration
11 hours 0 minutes
Summary
The award-winning bestseller that became one of the most talked about and memorable novels of the decade, Room is "utterly gripping...a heart-stopping novel" (San Francisco Chronicle).   Held captive for years in a small shed, a woman and her precocious young son finally gain their freedom, and the boy experiences the outside world for the first time.

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating — a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.
Reviews
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Matt G.

Man that was good. The first half of this book is top notch. Liked the movie too but this was better.

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Wendy H.

Great story. Too much detail for the first 3 hours made it a bit boring, and the moms bland voice sounded much older than a 26 year old. Just didn’t feel like a good fit with her narration. Not much energy in her voice, but I read it in 2days cause I couldn’t put it down.

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April H

God bless the little children and their innocence!!

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Amanda Bacskai

Disturbing storyline but very well written. Absolutely loved it!

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Jaraby Thomas

Fantástico la incorporación de los personajes!! Fantastic the whole incorporation of the characters!

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Nicole Perras

This book was awesome. I really liked it. Narrator was fantastic.

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Jana Al-nahhas

Wonderful I don't think I'll enjoy watching the movie more than listing to the audio This is the second time I am going to listen to this giant masterpiece ..

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Brittany Argotsinger

This was a great read. I found the narration a bit distracting, since the story is told from the point of view of the 5 year old main character, and the voice is very high/childish (as one might expect). Other voices didn't always seem to match the age of the character. But these were minor irritations that I quickly forgave/forgot as I became immersed in the thought-provoking story. Our book club loved it.

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Tal Lee

Great book. The Audiobook makes it easy to devour. The child's voice can be a bit annoying at times but you can kind of get used to it.

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Diane Coakley

Brilliant! Wonderful story! Highly recommend this book.

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Kenneth Dubus

I can't say that this is a good story, but I can say that it is an excellent book. I had a hard time putting it down and finished it in 2 days. That's fast considering that I am a full time employee, full time student and mother of three. If you want something that is different than anything else you've read, this is a good choice.

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Amy Cook

Easily one of he very best books I have read in a very long time. The narrators were fantastic and heartfelt. A great read!

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Jenna Gullickson

This book was extremely interesting for a solid two hours, remotely interesting for another two or three, and boring for the rest. The storyline is okay, I liked the premise but if you looked at the book as a sequence of events it's actually pretty underwhelming. My real issues came with the narration. There are only 4 total narrators for the book: Jack (who is super annoying, his grammar and sentence structure is poor which is a problem I have with how it's written, but also listening to a little kid talk for 11 hours is just weird), his Ma (great voice), Old Nick (the captor) who shares a voice with literally every other adult male in the story which is just creepy, and the generic woman voice (grandma, nurses, police officers, television hosts, aunt, etc.). The generic woman voice is an elderly woman I've heard in another book and her voice is super annoying, way too old-ladyish which only fit for maybe one character. Anyway, I did listen to this in a record 6 days so I guess it has that going for it. If I could go back, I may have chosen to just read it in book-form but would not have selected it as an audiobook. Hopefully the movie is any good.

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Alexandra D\'Andrea

** spoiler alert ** I gave this book a 3. There were good points, like the premise, which was dark and intriguing. Ma who I thought was a wonderfully realistic character. She wasn't over done it one direction or the other. She was a wonderful mother who loved her son fiercely. She made sure his life was as big as she could make it, but she wasn't portrayed as a saint. She struggled with her confinement, she was a broken person, a shell of who she used to be - she was no longer a woman or a person even, just a mother - which is a very human reaction to her situation. I also loved that the book ended in room where it began, it was such beautiful symmetry to outline everything that had changed since they were first there. Now the bad points. The narration annoyed me. It was ok for the first half of the book, then it just got so annoying. I know lots of 5 year olds, and 4 year olds and even a 3 year old or two that don't talk "baby talk". It's so annoying, and i just couldn't see Ma putting up with that, and considering Jack had never heard anyone except his Ma and other adult on TV talk I don't know where he picked up the horrible baby talk. Second was the people on the outside, like his grandmother and some of the other secondary characters, I understand that it was a shock that Ma showed up with a kid after 7 years, but seriously get it together! Jack has never been in the world, he doesn't know how people act, and they're expecting...what...an adjusted kid...are you kidding me! Also Paul and Deanna, decide to take him to the museum for his first outing, WONDERFUL! That is a great idea for a first outing. But then they have to stop at the mall to run errands! You have to be kidding me! You couldn't have done that before you selfish pricks! OK rant over but seriously. How stupid are people! Ok so I don't know if that's actually and issue with the book, but reading these selfish peoples reactions to Jack, who hasn't been exposed to proper social situations really pissed me off.

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Kristy Miller

The book started and I was concerned, I didn't love the the narration and the childlike voice and wording was much different then what I'm used to. The longer I listened and the more interesting it got. By the end I had recommended it to all my friends and brought it up with people who aren't even big readers. I think the story was amazingly done! It's strange at the beginning and disturbing in many ways, but was the most original thing I've read in ages.

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miranda martinez

I wish this was in the perspective of the mother. It wasn't what I was looking for.

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Amanda Anderson

Good book. Good narration. Perfect for my daily commute to work

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Anonymous

This book was extremelly interesting and suspensefull!

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Brittani

Written and read from the perspective of a 5 year old. Not a good choice for a parent looking to escape!

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Amanda McMurray

Was very hard to listen to the first few chapters with the narration. Was worth it in the end- advice- suck it up! Lol, I was on the edge of my seat for some parts.

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Rebecca

I loved this book. Having this story told from the perspective of a 5 year old child was intriguing, engaging. I couldn't stop listening.

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g.w. from Plano, TX

This was a very nice surprise! I enjoyed this book and also the reader. I did not want to put it down at night. I just wanted to keep listening to see what would happen. Great Book.

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Rhale

Not too bad at all. Easy to fall in to. Takes a few minutes to get used to the narrator, but stick with it - it's worth it.

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Nikkie

The story is told in a voice of a 5-year old, a smarty pants that is a bit annoying to begin with, until one realizes what the story of his life truly is. The narrative begins weird, quickly turns creepy and once one realizes what is going on, it is deeply disturbing. At the beginning the book was so unusual that I wanted to know what it was about or I would have given up. I read the reviews on Amazon, and of course they gave the entire plot away, for which I am sorry, because I might enjoy the shock of realizing the true depth of the plot. However, I did see the characters in a different light than before I was aware of the true meaning of the story. It is beautifully written, often funny and amusing, but always with an undertone of discomfort. I believe this books is at this time shortlisted for an award and I think it truly deserves one.

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Paperback Reader

This book was tough to listen to. It might be better to read than to listen. I didn't finish it

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Janice

I am always amazed at the incredible insight it takes to assume the narrative from anothers point of view, This author captures the mind of the 5 year old boy whose sole teacher is his mother. His view of the world is upbeat and positive- almost impossible to believe given the circumstances of the Teacher. Their life is contained within the walls of one small locked room with a skylight that allows them to experience God's face in the sun and the moon. The narration by the little boy and the mother was exceptional. I loved it!

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Anonymous

This book stuck with me long after I had finished reading it. I wasn't expecting to like this book, got it intending to listen to part of the first and last cd only - just to get an intro and see how it ended since the reviews were so interesting. Instead, I ended up listening to the entire book twice during a long car trip. This is an uplifting story.

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Anonymous

A really disturbing and difficult listen. Not for the faint of heart. An emotional roller coaster and at times I almost stopped listening.

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Judy S

I had my concerns about this book, which features a 5-year-old boy and his mom - and you gradually come to understand they are being held captive in a locked room. I thought this concept would be too disturbing to delve into. However, the author presented it as an amazing story of redemption and strength on the part of the mother. And being told through the viewpoint of the child kept me totally captivated. The author truly captured the way a very young child must see the world; and how doubly confusing it was for this child, who spent 5 years in an isolated world and then (spoiler alert!) found freedom in the "real" world. I am still thinking about it - weeks and weeks after putting away the last disc Highly recommended.

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cheekaRae

I was very excited to listen to the book. The premise sounded very interesting. However, after the first couple of cd's I could not stand listening to the reader, (speaking as a child) the voice was very grading. It began to get incredibly monotonous. In the end I couldn't even finish the book. And that rarely happens. My husband couldn't get past the first cd.

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chezann

This is one of the few books I would have preferred to have read in print. Listening to the kid constantly asking "Why..." got old and at time like fingernails down a blackboard. As far as the story line, I enjoyed it.

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His Rancher Girl

Contrary to great reviews, I did not find this book a 4 or 5 star read, it had the potential to be so, but fell short in the narration. It is from the perspective of a 5 year old boy, that would have been alright for a portion of the book, but I found it a bit rattling after a while. This book could have had a great impact if an adults perspective interupted the childs thinking. I do realize this was the authors intent, but as a reader it became a bit much.

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