Author Language English Publisher Grove Press | Country United States Genre Modern tragedy Publication date 1971 | |
The Room is the second novel by Hubert Selby, Jr., first published in 1971.
Contents
Plot
The novel centers on a nameless petty criminal locked in a remand cell, and explores his feelings of impotence, hatred and rage, and fantasies of revenge.
Reception
Selby described the critical reception of the book as "the greatest reviews I've ever read in my life", although in reality it was not well received. The novel was regarded by Selby as the most disturbing book ever written, and Selby stated that he himself was unable to read it again for 20 years. At least one reviewer has expressed similar feelings, with claims that reading the novel made him physically sick. It has been described as "a terrifying journey into the darkest corners of the psyche."
In popular culture
A section of The Room is used in Richard Linklater's Waking Life, where a red-faced man in a jail cell describes in vivid detail the abuse he intends to inflict once he is released.