Room by Emma Donoghue book review

The unbelievably tragic and cruel situation of a young woman imprisoned to be used as a sex slave is the theme of this amazingly uplifting and life affirming novel. Kidnapped as a teenager, she is repeatedly raped by her captor and her son Jack is the result of this liaison. The narrative commences in "room" as Jack celebrates his fifth birthday.
At the heart of the book is the strength of the mother child relationship. The story is narrated by Jack who knows no other life than "room".  
The book reveals a completely private world. Every family has its own language of codes and in-jokes, and Donoghue captures this very well. Ma has created characters out of all aspects of their twelve foot square room – Wardrobe, Rug, Plant, Meltedy Spoon. 
They have a TV and Jack loves "Dora the Explorer", but Ma limits the time they are allowed to watch it for fear of turning their brains to mush. They do "phys ed" every morning, keep to strict mealtimes, make up poems, sing Lady Gaga and Kylie, and most importantly, Ma has a seemingly endless supply of stories.
For five years Ma makes her sole purpose in life to be giving Jack as normal an upbringing as possible in this abnormal situation. After his fifth birthday she devises a bold escape plan that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realise is just how unprepared she is for the outside world when the plan works. It came as a shock to me when following their escape they are described on the television news in the following sentence: “The despot’s victims have an eerie pallor and appear to be in a borderline catatonic state,” the reporter says, while Jack is a “malnourished boy, unable to walk”. 
The story of their life once "outside" narrates Jack's attempt to understand the world and take in the many new facts that surround him. The sudden and dramatic expansion of his experience of reality and the fear this creates is evoked brilliantly.
I loved the book. It was harrowing in parts but also uplifting and you could not fail to be impressed by the eternal optimism of the five year old that is perfectly captured in this story.