Bird Box: A Novel

You saw the movie and thought it was alright? Cool now ignore that and read this book. It's 12 times better. I wasn't a big fan of the movie, like I enjoyed it but I'm not like a huge fan yah know. I read a lot of books and I can't lie, this just stuck with me. It's one of my favorites. The movie does no justice to how good this book is. If you liked the concept of the movie, read this book. The plot given to you in words strikes so much hotter on the pan then the movie did. The nuiances in words and detail do more justice here in the book. Pull that trigger if your interested. Let it happen. It hits on some key points I look for in a story that fits my needs. It's got suspense, survival horror, tactical thoughts to resolve issues. I love stories where the characters in that universe react like intelligent normal humans. Thinking logically to what context they are dealing with. The story is told in an interesting past and present method that is easy to digest. You will predictably grasp it. Read this if your barely interested it's worth it.

When I first watched this movie on Netflix, it terrified me. Years later and the book, despite my prior knowledge, having already seen the movie, had that same effect on me. Bird Box is my third Malerman novel and the best I've read so far. It's an intriguing and creepy read that disturbed me to my core. I loved the writing style and the way the story was told. It made me feel uneasy and, at times, claustrophobic. I also appreciated my sight a lot more when I was reading. It was tense, suspenseful, thrilling, and gory at times. What more can you ask for. We are so used to demons, vengeful ghosts, creatures, zombies, and all the typical horror movie monsters. However, this book really highlights the biggest monster of all... man. "We are the creatures we should fear." I couldn't have said it better myself. Such a unique and terrifying storyline.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman, is a powerful, elegantly written story that absolutely enthralled me. The genius of this book is the fact that it focuses with sharp laser light on one singular story of survival, perseverance and terror. I loved the singular focus, because it was impossible to take my eyes off the page (this sentence is a reference to something you'll find interesting in a heartbeat here). Imagine that there's something in the world that causes utter insanity and homicidal mania in anyone who sees it. Where this thing came from, or why it exists does not matter. The facts of this story are that it DOES EXIST, and that if you open your eyes around it, you're lost forever. Given that intriguing scenario, there are a really interesting set of writing choices. First of all, the greatest temptation is to EXPLAIN and to explain what the heck is happening and why it is happening and allow the characters to make sense of it all. Wisely, Malerman entirely avoids that deceptively saccharine and simplistic choice. He doesn't explain. This is right in line with what I think about good fantasy and horror -- the best story comes from withholding everything you can. Never explain. Josh Malerman doesn't explain anything at all and his story is the more powerful for it. He just allows his story to unfold, and what a shocking, provocative and mind-rending story it is indeed. The story opens with Malorie and her two young children deciding to escape from the place she has been living for the past five years. Her very young children (who are almost never called anything else than Boy and Girl) have been raised with every precaution of seeing anything that is outside, and with all the rules in place, she decides to leave. It is a very perilous journey, because she won't be able to see anything, and she has no idea what the world outside even looks like anymore! This terrifying journey is intercut with the past story of how the world got to this horrific pass and how she once had friends and that all fell apart. The way Malerman intercuts between the two storylines is masterfully done -- I've almost never seen it done better in any book. It is, in essence, a very simple story: survive. And because it is a story of survival, it is, in the end, what one might call a horror novel. But a profoundly well-written and intriguing horror novel that haunts one for months afterwards. I highly recommend BIRD BOX. It's a beautiful, terrible story.

Malorie and her children are leaving their house and sanctuary for the first time since she was pregnant. Almost 5 years after an event that changed the course of humanity as she knew it, she had to raise her children in this new post cataclysmic world where your eyes could be your undoing. There is something out there that is causing people to go crazy and commit suicide the second they lay their eyes on it. This narrative goes between present time and the time before, while she was pregnant, and just learning about the events as they slowly take over the whole world. I read this book in a day. That's how good it was. I normally don't have time to read but I put everything aside to finish this one. The story was gripping. I was compelled to read it after I was told by quite a few people how weird and interesting it was. I couldn't put it down. There were no lulls in the book and the author gave hints at the characters back stories, developing them in a way that made me care about their safety and what happens to them. The only thing I didn't like is that I felt there were a few discrepancies within the story and I don't feel like there was a complete explanation or resolution to what was going on. Many theories were given but none were fully satisfactory to me and they never once said that any of the theories were what was happening. I loved this book. I will give it a solid 5 out of 5. It's rare for a book to capture me so much where I can't stop reading it. There is some parts of fairly graphic gore so it may not be for you if you are squeamish. But for someone who is into post apocalyptic survival type books, it is fully engrossing, and will knock your socks off!

Bird Box is a great book and that’s all you really need to know. I bought this for my Kindle a while back but my review queue prevented me from reading it. I’ve been disappointed by a few recently hyped books, so naturally, I approached this one with caution. Any lingering thoughts that Bird Box would be a disappointment were soon to flee the nest. The opening chapter sucked me right in with its desperately grim and dark outlook. The world is seemingly in chaos, something outside is causing people to go crazy, making them attack each other and behave like savages. Friends become enemies, families tear each other apart, even the animals are going insane, It’s scary stuff. The book opens in fantastic style raising many questions. Why can’t Malorie open her eyes? What is outside? Why are the children also blindfolded? Many, many more questions, dear reader, most of which are answered. Whilst the book has an apocalyptic tone, the setting is quite small. There are two timelines presented and both are equally as engaging. One timeline follows Malorie and her trip down the river with her blindfolded children, the other is a look at the past and her time spent with a small group of survivors. The pacing of this novel is excellent, and though some of the characters aren’t perhaps the most fully realised, there is so much going on, it actually didn’t hinder my enjoyment, and there are certainly times when you will question who the real monsters are. I believe the best horror stories leave much to the imagination and contain a certain ambiguity. Bird Box‘s strength lies in the fact that you are never quite sure what exactly is out there and for me, the greatest fear of all is the fear of the unknown. Malerman knows this and he uses it expertly to propel Bird Box into terrifying waters, delivering scenes of unbelievable tension and horror as Malorie and friends stumble around struggling to make sense of what is happening whilst still trying to carry out the simplest of tasks in order to survive. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward when one cannot see, even a trip outside to a well to retrieve water is a harrowing, daunting experience, especially when you can only rely upon your ears to inform you of what is going on. Throughout the book, there are numerous chapters where the tension is almost unbearable for the reader. Bird Box is a masterclass in building suspense, it’s a book dripping with paranoia and not a chapter goes by without something happening. Final thoughts: Bird Box is a wonderful book. I’m kind of gutted I left it this long before I read it. If you haven’t read it, don’t make the same mistake I did, go get a copy NOW! 5/5 dirty blindfolds from the Grim Reader

The book was delivered fast and in great quality. My friend encouraged me to read it, saying it was better then the movie. I hope so.

The most claustrophobic and suspensful novel I've read in a long, long time. It will tear your heart out and leave you breathless with its profound humanity and relentless pace. Not only a real page-turner but a passionate and compassionate tale. A tremendous achievement.

'Bird Box' is the story of Malorie and her two four years old unnamed children who have survived through a horror that they cannot look at because it will kill them. 'Bird Box' begins with Malorie living in a house with her two children as she prepares to leave the house they have lived in for the past four years, heading towards the river, blindfolded, to make their escape in the safety of the fog from the unseen monsters outside. As they begin their journey Malorie reminisces about her past. Before everything changed, Malorie and her sister Shannon had just moved in together in Detroit when Malorie discovered she was pregnant and the world was changing with reports coming from different places in Russia of horrific attacks and suicides, then incidents in Alaska and Canada. Malorie concerned about her unplanned pregnancy is not as worried as Shannon is but as the days go on, changes appear, blankets over windows, people covering their faces whilst driving. Malorie reads the morning paper where she sees an ad in the classifieds, a home in Riverbridge, a sanctuary which finally makes Malorie realise how dire the situation is. Three months past as Malorie and Shannon hide in their locked home, six months before Malorie's baby is due and their fears are confirmed when they do not hear from their parents as more and more incidents occur, now called 'The Problem' on the news and internet. Malorie reads as much news as she can until there is a media blackout and a mandated national curfew, both sisters live in fear, then Shannon commits suicide after looking out the window which Malorie cannot understand. Malorie, alone, grief stricken and terrified drives to the safe house where she meets other survivors, Tom, Jules, Victor (Jules's dog), Don, Felix, Cheryl and later Olympia (who is also pregnant) and Gary. Malorie now lives in a world with strangers and whatever waits outside for them. I have always been more of a fan of subtle horror as opposed to in your face horror, I enjoy the idea of something or someone that you cannot see and that is what exactly you get with 'Black Box', the idea of the monsters watching Malorie and her children as they try to make their escape. There is so much that makes 'Black Box' memorable, the characters are well written, you care about each of them as they try to survive, all of them are realistic. Tom, the leader of the group is so determined to keep the group together and to find someone else in the world who is managing to survive. Tom is full of ideas but after his first journey outside, he changes, despite wearing a blindfold, he feels the desolation of what is left of the world but he is still willing to try, to find a way to live outside. From one of Tom's journeys outside he brings back a box of birds that have been left in a garage with plenty of feed, which they use as a alarm, anyone or anything comes close, the birds make noise which helps the members of the group when collecting water from outside. Malorie changes throughout the book, at the start of the story, she has just found out she is pregnant, then trying to survive, trusting her instincts when it comes to Gary, who is hiding something, the horror of giving birth while death occurs around her, to raising two children, her own son and Olympia's daughter, teaching them to use their other senses, not to depends on their eyes as they have to wear blindfolds whilst outside. What is the most heartbreaking about Malorie is how guilty she feels about how she has raised her children, they have not had a normal childhood, what shines through is how strong she has made the children, how strong she has had to be. As you read the story, you find yourself consumed with emotions, at one point, I was thinking as Malorie had to face the world, 'just take the blindfold off' because like Malorie I wanted to know what was there despite the fear of the outcome. The feeling of being watched is very strong in the story, when anyone is outside and they hear a noise, is it their time? 'Bird Bird' is an amazing story of survival and what you are willing to do to protect what you love. I enjoyed it from start to finish, bleak, terrifying, ultimately a great read. I look forward to more stories by Josh Malerman.

Hay algo allá afuera; si lo ves, mueres. Ya no puedes usar la vista! ya eso es suficiente terror si eres de los que hasta lavarte la cara te da miedo por los segundos en que no puedes abrir los ojos.