Room, Emma Donoghue

Room, by Emma Donoghue

(Tansley Reads Rating: 77%)

Icebreaker:  If you were Ma, what would you miss most about the outside world?

1.    Why do you think the entire book is told in Jack's voice? Where do you find Jack’s voice most and least convincing?

2.    Jack's development has been stunted in some ways and accelerated in others by growing up in Room. What are some of them, and what aspect of his development surprises you most?

3.    Jack often wishes he was back in Room. Is there any way in which he would be better off back in isolation with only his mother?

4.    We see Ma only through the eyes of Jack and the people he observes interacting with her. How would you describe her? What do you admire about her?

5.    Ma is still breastfeeding Jack when he is 5 years old. What purpose does this serve in the story?

6.    We hear about three escape attempts – hitting Old Nick over the head with the toilet top, flashing the light to the skylight, and trying to dig a tunnel. There is no reference to other thoughts of escape.  Do you think this is realistic? 

7.    The TV interviewer implies that not everyone would agree with Ma's decisions regarding Jack - first, her decision to keep him in Room rather than try to have Old Nick abandon him at a hospital, and second, to teach him that Room was all there is, that things in TV aren't real, etc. What do you think of these decisions?

8.    Why did Ma attempt suicide? Why did she choose that moment to do so?

9.    If Ma had never given birth to Jack, what would her situation in Room be like?

10.What sorts of problems do you think Ma will face now that she and Jack are out on their own?

11. On page 70, Jack says, “Outside has everything.  Whenever I think of a thing now like skis or fireworks or islands or elevators or yo-yos, I have to remember that they’re real ………  me and Ma are the only ones not there.  Are we still real?”  How could you explain the world to someone whose reality is one room?

12.Why do you think Old Nick remains a shadowy figure, one we know little about? Did you find yourself wanting to know more about him?

13.Donoghue is very critical of the media for pandering to public voyeurism, yet she is the author of a novel that has a sensational news story as its genesis. Is society’s fascination with such stories entirely voyeurism or is there more to it?

14.What were you most affected by in the novel?

Quick-around the circle: “Overall, what did you think of this book?”