This book was fantastic.
Have you ever read a book where you become entirely lost in the voice of the character? Clearly, Donoghue has mastered the voices of a five year old and his mother, who are prisoners in a rapist’s converted shed.
How she was able to wrap such loveable and bright, warm-feeling moments around such a horrifying premise is nearly beyond me. It is a feat that no other author I’ve read has been able to accomplish.
The story unfolds, and eventually Jack and his Ma are released back into the world, having to recover from their lives spent trapped in one room. In the end, Ma is able to pose rational questions she had to face herself. Do you create a world that exists for your child in order to raise him in a safe environment, or something else?
My ranking: buy this book. If for no other reason than to experience the awe and joy for a child who had only one room to live in throughout the first five years of his life. I want to hug Jack, though he wouldn’t allow me. I want to tell Ma that it will be okay, that she is strong and brave and if she made it through this far, she can finish out the rest of her life.
I want to whisper fairy tales into Jack’s ears and make the best of the much better situation I have with my own children.
And if you’re looking to support A Perilously Precocious Librarian book blog, buy your copy from Tattered Cover here.
Thanks for reading, ya'll.
Miss Ash
