1: agreeably sharp or acid to the taste (a tart apple)
2: marked by a biting, acrimonious, or cutting quality (a tart rejoinder)
3: a dish baked in a pastry shell : pie: as a : a small pie or pastry shell without a top containing jelly, custard, or fruit b : a small pie made of pastry folded over a filling
4:[earlier slang, girlfriend, probably short for jam tart, rhyming slang for sweetheart] : prostitute
(From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
Truth be told, Room wasn't the first book I read narrated by a child. A few months back I borrowed this book from kak Zai. The title somehow tickled me and only when I read the back synopsis did I know why the title was that way because the story is from the point of view of 7-going-on-8 year old Rosie.
She is taken care of by Uncle Bert and Auntie Maggie (whom she knows are not her actual parents, thanks to her cow of a friend Kathy Moon who, quite to her face said, "You're mum's a tart!"). She loves them with all her hearts and is loved by everyone around her too. There's a colourful and amusing set of people who are in her life.
Mamma Campanini who owns the deli and has a hoard of children, one of them Luigim whom I secretly think Rosie has a crush on ☺ There's Sharkey Finn, a shabby lawyer who lives in his office. Then there's TC, the local constable. There's Brenda a.k.a Paulette who advertises for French Lessons but who actually works in the oldest profession in the world. Then, there's Enid Fluck, otherwise known throughout the novel as Madam Zelda, the fortune teller..
..and then there's the Perfumed Lady who always dresses so beautifully and laughs a lot but seldom sober. She always brings Rosie trinkets that Rosie once thought she was a Fairy Godmother.. but in truth, she's Rosie's real mother.
She's actually a very kind woman but she just doesn't have any motherly feelings in her, that is why she dumped Rosie on Uncle Bert and Aunt Maggie, who fortunately love both Rosie and her mother.
One day, Uncle Bert and Aunt Maggie decide to adopt Rosie legally, the problem is, her mother comes and goes as she wishes so they had to track her down first since she hadn't dropped by for months.
Somehow, the news of Rosie came to her step-grandads ears and he came to their little town to figt for custody for Rosie too. Turns out, he molested and raped Rosie's mother, hat was why she ran awak.. but no, Rosie isn't his, as will be revealed at the end of the book.
There's also Dave, Paulettes pimp who beats her up and all until she leaves him and Charlie, Madam Zelda's exhusband who's just as bad as Dave. These two guys drove those two woman to despise guys so much that they found solace in each others.. err, bed! Hahah.. and this is set in the 1950s hokey.. siap move in together lagik Paulette and Madam Zelda, WITH the help of all other townspeople hehe..
One day, Rosie's grandad set out to kidnap her with the help of those two weasels but she was saved by Paulette, who in turning over a new leaf, was a waitress at the diner they were waiting.
All in all, its a very entertaining book that'd keep you reading till the end in a very relaxing way..
..I'm just wondering when am I going to return the book to its owner.. opppssss!
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