One of the things I really liked about Room was Jack's perspective -- this is obviously a vital aspect of the book but it really made it stand out. I feel like the novel could have been a lot more depressing if it were from Ma's perspective -- obviously it's still quite dark but something about Jack's childhood innocence kept the edge off, because although he'd describe things like scenes with Old Nick, he'd often quickly switch to a fun game with Ma or something, and his innocence makes it a bit more bearable.
His unique way of describing things also added a lot to the book, in both halves of the novel -- from the way he knows the furniture in Room as kind of friends to all his attempts to describe the new things he encounters in the outside. It adds a lot of interest to what could just be sort of bland descriptions and it's always fun to hear familiar things described in new ways. It also makes readers think twice about parts of society we kind of take for granted (for example, the media stuff).
Having Jack narrate also makes the novel more subtle -- I feel like Donoghue drops a lot of little things that Jack just notices in one sentence. This goes back to not dwelling on things a bit but it makes it more rewarding for the reader to pick up on these little things -- I like that Donoghue doesn't draw things out or belabor them too much.
Jack's perspective also emphasized Ma's heroism for me -- the fact that he's developing pretty normally and seems pretty happy speaks to all the Ma has been able to do as a mother in these circumstances.
Emma Donoghue sums a lot of this up herself in the short interview with her at the end of the book. She said she "never considered any other perspective," although she did worry that "the prospect of being stuck in a little kid's head might turn some readers off." For me, I think it did the opposite.
