cover image Room

Room

Emma Donoghue, read by Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Suzanne Toren, and Robert Petkoff, Hachette Audio, unabridged, nine CDs, 11 hrs., $29.98 ISBN 978-1-60788-627-3

Five-year-old Jack and his Ma live and eat and play and sleep in one room—an 11×11-foot space that is their prison—captives of the terrifying man Jack calls Old Nick. But as Jack grows older and more curious, it becomes clear that the room will not be able to hold him and Ma forever. Michal Friedman shines as Jack; her narration is haunting and compelling in its every inflection and tone. The voice she creates for Jack is so convincing, listeners may even mistake her for an actual child. Her powerful performance is complemented by Robert Petcoff's sinister Old Nick, and Ellen Archer's portrayal of resourceful Ma, whose gentle voice is infused with patience, terror, and hope. The chemistry between the players creates a gem of an audiobook that will haunt listeners long after the story's end. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, July 12). (Sept.)