Josh's Reviews > The Room

So, after thinking about this for a few hours and rating it a 3.5 for entertainment purposes, I thought I'd inch it up a half to a solid 4.0 due to its use of heavily relatable metaphor in regards to office employment. Many of us who work inside of an office building amongst peers, co-workers, acquaintances, a mixture of all three or one's you couldn't give a damn about can truly relate to this book in ways that Karlsson brings forth with each page. The cast of characters are hateful, dramatic, gossip-y, jealous, envious and back-stabbing. Bjorn's arrogant nature keeps him aloof of his co-workers, but that seems fine to him. He works better alone; his figurative Room is a place he can think and be efficient. No one can see the room, nor do they know it exists.

"I suddenly felt how lonely it is, constantly finding yourself the only person who can see the truth in this gullible world."

In my opinion, the Room signifies a place of calm, where any one of us can take a step inside our minds and work things out and be focused on an objective and then step out and be anew...and rid of that damn stress that people put on us.

I've seen this mentioned as in the same vein as 'Office Space' or even 'The Office', but the only thing these two have in common with Karlsson's Room is the fact that the majority of the story takes place in an office. I'm a bit skeptical when it comes to screenwriters of movies and/or television writing fiction (can I say George Pelacanos, please?), but I must admit that even though this was a short, fast read, it left me engaged throughout. Good stuff.