Sunday, February 20, 2011

Book Review: Room & The Condition

During my trip to Boston I finished 2 books. It was a really long plane ride.

Room by Emma Donoghue
This book is told from the point of view of a 5 year old boy who is trapped in a room with his mother. The boy has never been outside of the room. It is imporant that the story is told from the point of view of a 5 year old so that the story doesn't become too depressingly sad. His innocence makes the story bearable. Once you look at the table of contents you know that the story is going to end up all right. And that justice will be served. It's interesting the sensory deprivation that the boy experiences, which resembles some of the sensory problems that children with autism can have. I highly recommend that you read this novel.

The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
This novel is about a dysfunctional family, and if they would've communicated with each other they could've solved many of their problems.  The little girl has Turner's Syndrome, and it's refreshing to see how she copes with her condition to be independent and ultimately fall in love. The other 2 boys are pitted against each other. One is a screw up and the other is the golden child. As this family enters adulthood and the parents age, you watch them work out their problems, and come to some sort of balanced family. I felt like the majority of the story was really told well, but the author had some trouble wrapping up the end.  I enjoyed reading this book while in Boston, because the story was set in Boston. I wish that we had made time to head over to Emerson Pond, it sounds beautiful!

2 comments:

  1. Room sounds kind of creepy. Kind of Flowers in the Attic-y. Would I like this one?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you would like it. It isn't too depressing, b/c of the 5 year old. And in the end it works out. It's also short, so you could read it in no time.

    ReplyDelete