In the book 'Bird Box' by Josh Malerman, the story revolves around a post-apocalyptic world where mysterious creatures drive people to madness and violence upon sight. The main character, Malorie, is pregnant and seeks refuge with other survivors in a safe house, where all windows are covered, and going outside requires being blindfolded. The narrative unfolds in two timelines - the past, focusing on Malorie's time in the safe house and raising her children, and the present, as she navigates down a river in search of a safe haven. The writing style is described as weird, bizarre, but entertaining, interweaving past and present seamlessly to create a suspenseful and gripping tale.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic violence, suicide, and themes of mental illness and loss.
From The Publisher:
Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, and Rosa Salazar!
Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world-a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.
Something is out there . . .
Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.
Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat-blindfolded-with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?
Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey-a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside-and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?
Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman's breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.
Ratings (62)
Incredible (13) | |
Loved It (23) | |
Liked It (18) | |
It Was OK (4) | |
Did Not Like (3) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (113):
Read It (66) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (33) | |
Not Interested (12) |
7 comment(s)
Tore through it in a little more than a day.
Bird Box is constant tension, never letting up and winding tighter as the book goes on. It takes that childlike belief that if you don't open your eyes, "it" can't get you, and makes it real.
Malorie gets pregnant just as news reports are popping up in Russia, then Alaska, of people going violently mad after seeing something. The victims lose their minds and attack themselves and others. Soon people are nailing blankets over the windows and not leaving the house. After Malorie's sister falls victim to the undefined enemy, Malorie makes her way to a house that advertised in the paper as a safe house, open to any survivors. The story is told from multiple perspectives and jumps back and forth in the timeline, which I think is genius. As the book opens Malorie has decided today is the day she will take the river behind the house to a safer place. Just this story would be a short book, so Malerman inserts chapters of how Malorie arrives at the original safe house, the course of her pregnancy, the mounting tension among her housemates, and the devastating events that leave her alone with two infants.
The tension mounts so expertly in this book you won't be able to put it down. The image of the housemates brushing brooms over surfaces to determine a "creature" hasn't slipped into the house is terrifying. What if one of them is just slipping around the broom? Every time they open the door they take a monumental risk. So good. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, all the up until
the attic scene.
Or really just the whole thing with Don and Gary.
I can't really be the only one that thinks Don's behavior in the end was totally out of character? Like yeah, he's combative and argumentive, but he's also
incredibly cautious and a bit paranoid. Like for example, he doesn't want George watching the tape, he doesn't like to let new people into the house, he doesn't even want to let Tom and Jules back in after their excursion.
All throughout the book, he's shown to be overly cautious and preoccupied with his own safety. Never is he shown to be impressionable, naive, or shown to think that there's a possibility the creatures won't hurt them. But then Gary comes along and suddenly he and Don are best buds? And suddenly Gary somehow convinces Don that the creatures won't hurt them? To the point that he somehow convinces Don to just fuck everything up?
Like what...??
Where did that even come from?
Seriously, that just felt
entirely out of character for me. So much so that it really ruined the ending. If it had been another character, or if it had been shown earlier that Don was considering the creatures wouldn't hurt them, then the ending would have been more believable for me. But as it stands, it just felt very very contrived.
The book and the movie, al thought similar, are not the same. I felt the book had more depth and I really enjoyed being able to understand the characters thinking. The book is much more dark and realistic to this kind of event in ways the movie wasn’t. Worth the read.
Kept me on my toes....I was truly scared reading this book. It felt too real...LOVED IT
Kept me on my toes....I was truly scared reading this book. It felt too real...LOVED IT
Very good
Preface: I was super torn about whether I should rated it three or four stars, but since I can’t imagine myself reading it again, I went with three.
The ending drags on- I swear the final chapter is 2/3 sentences recapping everything that’s happened in the book- but otherwise it moves fast, alternating between past and present. It’s well written, and definitely made me wonder how I’d handle the situation and challenges the characters face. There’s lots of emotion balanced with suspense and thrill/action scenes. The sense of fear is palpable.
I loved Bird Box. The psychological horror inspired me to write my own, which wound up being My Dark Fairy Tale.
What can you read after
Bird Box?
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