Smith's strength as a writer lies in the relaxed complexity of her characters: the bad aspects of good women and the wise thoughts of foolish men are utterly plausible.

But "Room" never loses track of this boy's utterly plausible, vividly described thought processes.

The settings are made up from naturalistic details but they appear utterly plausible.

My daylight mind, the conscious and responsible me, might want to write stories about people who seem entirely real in situations that seem utterly plausible.

It seemed utterly plausible when, on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Shaw said: "This is an extraordinary chorus.

It is skin-deep and utterly plausible.

Delicate, utterly plausible illustrations.

And yet they do, which is both alarming and, in the context of the story, utterly plausible.

Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light.

She looked off, checking the street, then said, "But on another, it's utterly plausible."