Bird Box: A Novel
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You probably know Bird Box from Susanne Bier’s chilling Netflix thriller of the same name. In Josh Malerman’s terrifying debut, residents of Michigan River, and possibly the rest of civilization, have been befallen by an apocalyptic nightmare that comes in the form of horrific creatures that turn people mad and suicidal when they simply look at them.
If you’ve seen what’s lurking out there, then it’s already too late for you. Having lost her sister to these maddening creatures, a young woman named Malorie must raise her kids the safest way she can think of: in the sanctuary of a small hidden house with the windows covered using mattresses, the curtain closed, and the doors dead-bolted. Like everyone else in the house, Malorie must occasionally venture outdoors blindfolded to get food and perform the essentials.
Majorie’s plan goes well and dandy until she finds out that she is pregnant. Now she’s hell-bent on finding a safer place for her two loved ones and unborn child to live. For this, she has to wake up her kids who are sleeping in the bedroom across the hall and risk it all by leaving the house blindfolded.
Named after caged birds that coo when something comes near the bird box, the book comes with a fair share of crop apocalyptic mysteries. The story follows Malorie’s fearful life, cutting back and forth between when she’s living in the sanctuary house, where communicating with the outside world is through only an analog telephone, and when she finally makes a run for it with her two unnamed children 4 years later.
Their bold escape is not without incidents. Malorie’s biggest fear is that one or both of her little ones could ease the blindfold and die from maddening creatures. Whenever she comes back to the stranger’s house, she has to be sure that no one has ushered in a creature or has been exposed to them.
From one page to the next, Josh Malerman keeps us on the edge of our seats with his brutal yet cool writing. Now and then you’ll think he’s heading for The Twilight Zone’s clichés and malarkey, only to add a twist to his story with poetic misery & doom. In one particularly chilling scene, two women are delivering on their own with heavy footsteps on the squeaky attic ladder, a dog howling aggressively, and bolts of lightning.
Bird Box was largely overshadowed by the screen adaption, which premiered on Netflix to so-so reception and a boatload of ridiculing memes. For the first two or so weeks of premiering, no one knew exactly what the heck Bird Box was all about, but they sure did know that everyone was talking about it.
Netflix version aside, Malerman’s Bird Box is a truly compelling work of science fiction. On its way to becoming one of the best post-apocalyptic novels of all time, it comprises a basketful of subtle touches that will tickle your love for sci-fi. The book is so directly, efficiently, and well written you’ll read it from cover to cover without putting it down.
It’s easy to follow the story when you can see what the characters see, which isn’t the case with Bird Box because most of them are blindfolded. Even so, Malerman managed to masterfully take us through the horrifying life of Malorie and her unnamed kids in the perilous world of maddening creatures.
Whether you’re into science fiction or horror novels, this book packs a special treat for you with ubiquitous dread, stomach-churning plot twists, and indefatigable suspense. The writing is fairly varied, the pace is modest, and the fright comes right out of the pages. Forget Hollywood style of apocalypse films in which the protagonists often face down the frightening jaws of the demon, Bird Box goes off-script and takes it up a notch.
The only notable downside is the writer seems to stretch scenes for far too long with clunky punch lines. It’s as if the book staggers on in its quest to bombard us with death, satisfaction, and entertainment. Good thing, Malerman punches in with a plot twist that breaks the suspense with a bang!
Overall, Bird Box is a spell-binding, heart-wrenching apocalyptic suspense thriller that calls for a single-sitting reading. It’s beautifully written, surprisingly compelling, and uniquely disturbing, making it one of the most exciting reads for Stephen King and sci-fi fans. In fact, this unsettling novel is a great read for people who love The Birds by Hitchcock or the works of Jonathan Carroll.
