reasonable

It took a while to get over the irritating Ralph Wigham ( from simpsons) voice, and to get into the situation the characters were in.

Once into it, the story was quite interesting and exciting how the characters were coping with the situation, the simplicity of existing.

So, all in all, a reasonable listen, just that irritating voice...listen to the preview before buying

16 people found this helpful

Good listen

I wont review the book in great detail as others have done this. What I will say is that it is certainly a good story written cleverly from a child's perspective. It is however, let down by the narration. The 'childs' voice is grating to begin with, although I did get used to it as I got more into the story. The Irish and Australian accents were probably the worst I've ever heard - laughably so, which detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Don't let this put you off though - they only made brief appearances.

18 people found this helpful

Great book but Jack's voice could have been better

Fantastic book. Very gripping story-line with some real tear-jerker moments.

The only thing I didn't like about this audio version is the voice of the child. It sounded like an adult woman pretending to be a 5-year-old boy. I realize they probably couldn't get a real 5-year-old boy to narrate it but surely they could have got an older boy to narrate, rather than a woman.

12 people found this helpful

Uncomfortable book, but very well executed

I found this book extremely uncomfortable to listen to because of the subject matter. That said, the viewpoint of Jack, an innocent, makes it slightly more palatable, while also allowing Donoghue to pile on the irony.

Like other listeners, I found the child's voice jarring at first, but soon settled in. I thought the person reading the child's part did incredibly well at conveying subtle emotions, and also liked the input from other voices for the other characters. If you can deal with the child's voice (which isn't for everyone, going on these reviews), I think this is a book that works very well in audiobook format.

10 people found this helpful

Outstanding!

This is definitely my favourite book of 2010. I notice some reviewers have not liked the narrator, and am surprised to read one person deleted the book after only 10 minutes - my advice would be to give it some time, as you do get used to him, and actually I think as you warm to the character more, it becomes quite endearing. This book stayed with me for weeks after, and really got me thinking, mainly because it's been written from a child's perspective. Very clever, very touching - a real gem of a book.

9 people found this helpful

Narrator sounds like Ralph Wigham...

This is a great story which kept me hooked throughout - hence the 3 stars. However, I found this version difficult to listen to, since the narrator sounds like Ralph Wigham from The Simpsons.

The story is told by a 5 year-old boy, who - as is often done with voiceover work - is narrated by a woman putting on a childish voice. In this case, the voice was too blatantly female, as well as difficult to understand. I found this incredibly annoying, as it ruined the atmosphere which oozes from the book by making a tense situation sound simplified & cartoonish.

This is one of the few instances in which I would recommend reading the actual text version over the audiobook.

12 people found this helpful

Outstanding

Would you listen to Room again? Why?

This is different from anything I've read before, and it was lifted into the category of brilliant by the performance. Beautifully constructed book.

What did you like best about this story?

Told from the viewpoint of a young child, this story is funny, heartbreaking and uplifting. The part of the child 'Jack' was beautifully read. I loved it from start to finish and couldn't stop listening.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

This book is completely transformed by the narration. I found it to be exceptional and much more interesting than if I'd read the hard copy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending of the book was very moving, but the entire book is just brilliant.

Any additional comments?

I read widely and this book is one of the best I've ever read. It stands out as different from the rest.

2 people found this helpful

It's right up there amongst the best I've heard!

Quite an amazing listen that brought tears to my eyes during a long train journey. I would advise to ignore any negative reviews that have been based soley upon the narration of 5-year-old Jack's voice. For me, it is the voice of Jack that had my emotions at breaking point at several points during the book. However, although I didn't find his voice difficult to overcome, obviously some did so bear it in mind - but DO stick with it because, as the book progresses, you will fall in love with him and want to take him home! Highly recommended!

5 people found this helpful

Compelling and emotive

I was almost put off by the reviews bemoaning the narration of the voice of Jack, but I'm so glad I decided to go ahead and download. The whole story from start to finish was very well written, and the narration I thought was spot on. It needs to sound child like, as it's the voice of a child.
I'm now intent on watching the movie, and of course there's now a stage play too. To see the world through the eyes of a child is a very enlightening thing.

1 person found this helpful

Fantastic!

Unnerving at times but just overall moving.

A great story, performed perfectly by very talented performers.

I wanted to read this before the movie came out.

1 person found this helpful