Places and Things are given Names: Wardrobe, Rug, Room, Skylight, and TV. This is one of the strongest uses of language in Emma Donahue’s novel Room, which is told in the present tense from the perspective of five-year-old Jack, a young boy locked in a garden shed with his mother. An Irish-Canadian author living in London, Ontario, Donahue recently saw Room on the short-list for the Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards for literature.

Ma, whose real name we never discover, was kidnapped seven years ago by a man they call Old Nick. Games she plays with Jack, such as Scream, wherein he and Ma stand under the skylight and cry out as loud as possible, are darkly amusing but ultimately heartbreaking because between the lines lies all the desperation, despair and tenacity felt by this woman.

Jack’s universe is destroyed when he learns about the outside world, and the way he grapples with this revelation is both touching and compelling. Donahue knows the frame of mind of children and employs that knowledge to create a curious, intelligent and funny young boy.

Donahue’s novel is not one of those supermarket thrillers, although there is a scene where Ma and Jack make an attempt to escape that is one of the most harrowing sequences I’ve ever read. It’s about how a mother relates to her son, attempts to care for him, and raise him under hideous circumstances. Desperate as she is to break out, she must contend with her young boy who is terrified at the thought of leaving, and who may intentionally spoil her plans. Both mother and son lie and manipulate one another; Donahue wisely avoids turning either of them into saints.

The story is also about Ma’s attempt to carry on after being psychologically scarred by a human monster. There is never any triumph for her, no satisfying moment of retribution. At the end of the novel, her tears spring from pain, and it is taxing just to get through the day with some semblance of happiness, but that, in its own way, is her victory.

Room is a terrific novel, a dogged examination of mothers and their children. It is unsentimental despite some of Jack’s simpleminded conclusions. His journey has only just begun, and one day he will understand how brave his mother is, and appreciate the incredible sacrifices she made for him.