Name: Bird Box
Rating: 3.942982456140351 (228 reviews)
ISBN: 9780007529896

Josh Malerman

Josh Malerman’s debut novel BIRD BOX is a terrifying, psychological thriller that is sure to stay with you long after reading.

Bird Box

Andrew John Kinney

I had heard good things about this book, and it is a page-turner, but ultimately I was disappointed. I can suspend my disbelief about the mysterious creatures and all, but there were just a few too many unbelievable bits for me to feel satisfied. Examples: a severe injury from a wolf's claw? Wolves are not mountain lions, Josh - they use their teeth. Birds that survived for months in a box in a garage? Sorry, I've raised ducks, and I don't buy that either. There's a bit about umbilical cords that is gross so I won't relate specifics, but the general problem is that said cords do not have the tensile strength of steel wire as would be required in that plot twist.

Krystyna 

I had wanted to read this book for a while but I kept putting it off. I started with A House at the Bottom of a Lake for my first Malerman book and I hated it. Then, I was even more hesitant to pick this one up. The movie came out so I wanted to read it before I watched it. I read this with a friend and ending up liking it a lot more than the other Malerman that I read. This story was atmospheric and had me tense at times while reading it. I can't imagine having to live like these characters. There were some parts of this book that were a little difficult for me to read because of the content. But, overall, this was an enjoyable, tense read. I thought that the pacing of this book kept the reader engaged and it went quickly. Just for comparison, I do think that the book was better, as it usually is.

Colleen

3 Stars
 
I have mixed feelings about Bird Box. It has an interesting concept and builds the atmosphere well, but it lacks character development and was not able to carry the ideas to a satisfying fruition.
 
I wasn’t really aware of this book until people started talking about the movie adaptation. When my bookclub chose this for February I was intrigued enough although it was hard to avoid spoilers since so many people were talking about it.
 
I can’t say much about the story itself without spoilers. It’s a near-future, post-apocalyptic story wherein people start seeing something that makes them go insane and violently attack anyone around them before brutally killing themselves. The story flips back and forth between immediately after these events start happening and four years later. It focuses on the experience of a young, pregnant woman named Malorie.
 
The writing style was the element that I felt the most conflict about. The book is written in present tense which drives me nuts. Sure, there have been exceptions where I have enjoyed stories in present tense, but those are very, very rare outliers. In all honesty, there were times when the writing structure in Bird Box was like nails on a chalkboard to me. I didn’t like the first 1/3 of the book at all. Between the present tense and the nonchronological storyline, the start of the story didn’t grab my attention at all.
 
This book was completely lacking in character development. Tom was the only character who showed any personality. Everyone else wavered between varying degrees of fear and anger. Those are emotions, not personality. And while people certainly would display those emotions during life or death situations, there still needs to be character development! It was also strange how the children were so dehumanized. They didn’t have names or personalities and showed even less emotion than the adults in the story. While I think I understand that the author was trying to display how things change when base survival is the one and only motivation, it was yet another aspect of the story that was underdeveloped.
 
Nonchronological plot is another technique that I’m not fond of. It’s particularly ineffective when used in Suspense/Thrillers because you know how it ends. Maybe you don’t know the exact events that lead up to that event, but you know the end result and that totally ruins the suspense. This is the second Horror book in a row that I’ve read with a nonchronological storyline, (the other being The Silent Companions) and it ruined the suspense in both books.
 
Once I got farther into the story, things did pick up somewhat. I enjoyed the middle of this book the most. For a little while, I even thought this might end up being four stars. I often talk about how horror novels make the mistake of being too in-your-face with their scary bits. I like some things left up to the imagination. And the human brain will fill in more horror in the unknown than in straightforward horror. The monster lurking unseen in the dark is scarier than one directly in front of you. And Bird Box certainly capitalizes on that premise. The story is intentionally vague. It plays off of the fear of the unknown. That fear is combined with depravation of people’s primary sense: sight. One glance at whatever is out there is enough to make a person permanently insane, violent, and suicidal. So the only way to survive is to stay blindfolded no matter what.
 
While the idea of people trying to function while deprived of sight was interesting, I didn’t feel that it delved deeply into the psychological effects. The story could have been a much deeper psychological exploration but instead stayed around a very surface level fight-or-flight response. And while the fear of the unknown started out as the story’s strength, eventually it held the story back. The atmosphere was creepy and intense but not scary. And it got too repetitive. Smaller plot points and tons of dialogue was repeated over and over to the point of monotony.
 
And although I was engaged in the middle of the story, by the end I lost interest again. The whole story only has two levels of tension. Every moment is either “waiting for something bad to happen” or “something bad is happening.” It was like a techno song that repeats the same two notes ad nauseam. I prefer something that builds to a crescendo. Sometimes the story was gripping, but eventually I reached the point where I was over-saturated with the same unending level of tension. Unfortunately, that moment occurred abruptly during the big, climactic scene. And after that point, everything about the writing started irritating me. The extremely repetitive phrasing and dialogue, the deliberately vague worldbuilding, the massive plot holes, the overly convenient Deus ex Machina, the lack of character development, and the inconsistencies totally killed my enjoyment. By the last chapter, I had zero investment in whether or not Malorie would survive.
 
The ending had too many things that didn’t make sense. It was ok to leave certain things open-ended, but when you combine that with the plot holes and overwhelming coincidences, it glaringly indicates lazy writing. That ending was a complete cop-out.
 
I admit, there were certainly moments when I was engaged in this story. But those moments are quickly fading from my memory. Even while writing this review, I struggled to recapture the positive feelings I had while reading this book. Now I only remember the things that annoyed me. So the end result was a horror story that wasn’t terrible but definitely did not live up to its potential.
 

RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Josh Malerman's debut novel BIRD BOX is a terrifying psychological thriller that will haunt you long after reading. Most people dismissed the reports on the news. But they became too frequent; they became too real. And soon it was happening to people we knew. Then the Internet died. The televisions and radios went silent. The phones stopped ringing And we couldn't look outside anymore.

Emelie

Second Read 26-29/9-18: Yup, still amazing! 

First Read 21-22/8-16:This book was soo good! It had me on edge the entire time!

Sarahi Flores

I finally decided to read this! Well technically I listened to it. It took a while but I finally saw what was all the hype about. From present to flash backs, I manage to have an understanding of how the madness works. Malorie, the protagonist, is a very brave woman, mother, and fighter. To manage to train the little ones, she was confident enough to embark on a dangerous journey with them. 

I still have unanswered question what exactly is that makes people go mad and hurt themselves and others. I believe there will be a sequel to this novel and I didn’t know until later that there is! Now I am definitely intrigued to what it’s really going to be about and I hope there are more explanations to the creatures. 

This is a four star review. The audiobook was at good pace and easy to listen to. Now I will watch the movie and see how close they adapt it from the novel.

Sarah Escorsa

Before writing this review I had planned to give this book a 3.5 rating. See my actual rating? Oops.

Where I'm from we don't celebrate Halloween. What can I say, we're weird like that. Well we do have some kind of celebration. Yes, we do. We put pots of depressing-looking chrysanthemum on tombstones. Yay! Think of it as Día de los Muertos without the cool stuff. So instead of getting this:



We get something like this:



Party on. I'm telling you, we know how to have a good time. Anyway, the point is (because yes, there is a point), no Halloween for me. And no Halloween = no spooky times. And no spooky times = no spooky October read. Truth be told, I thought you people were kind of silly with all your oooh-please-scare-me-baby October reviews and updates. So here I was reading review after review after review for supposedly horrifying books and thinking to myself, 'please make it stop! Will this month never end?!' Then this happened. Yep, I'm blaming it all on Karen. Because before reading her review I hadn't read a supposedly petrifying book in ages. So I decided to give Bird Box try. Right in time for Halloween, I might add. Ha! Take that you terror-seeking freaks! 



So Karen said "this is an incredibly original horror/psychological suspense novel that reminds us that with all great horror, the unseen is so much more terrifying than the seen," and I was doomed. Why? Because the only thing that is guaranteed to freak the hell out of me is the unseen. Why? (view spoiler)[You do ask an awful amount of questions, you know that? (hide spoiler)] Mainly because I saw The Haunting when I was 8. And let me tell you, I have kept my arms safely hidden beneath the bed covers since then. And my head, too. But I (sometimes) need to breathe so I (very bravely) stick my nose out for a few seconds. I'm digressing, aren't I? Damn, I knew it. Sorry about that, it won't happen again (view spoiler)[I'm such a crappy liar (hide spoiler)]. Long story short: Halloween + scary reads everywhere + Karen's review + please spookify me = let's be crazy! Let's be rash! Let's read Bird Box!



You're absolutely right, this gif has nothing to do with either this book or this review. But you can never go wrong with a little Picard shake, so there. And stop being so impatient, I'll get to the review. Eventually. Trying to gather my thoughts and all that. 

Anyway. When I started reading Bird Box I expected to feel like this:



It turns out I mostly felt like this:

 

Yep, life sucks. Especially since the premise of the book is pretty great: people see "something," go batshit crazy and either commit suicide or go on a lovely killing spree. Preferably both. No one knows what that "something" since no one survives seeing it. So what do people do? They lock themselves in, board up their windows and wear blindfolds whenever they have to go outside. So far so good. Not scary, but intriguing.

Then we meet Malorie. And Malorie I did not like. Malorie I did not like at all. Actually no, it's worse than that. I didn't care if Malorie lived or died. She is too bland, too apathetic. She only steps up and takes charge when there is no one else left to do it in her place. But what really really really annoyed the hell out of me was The Nameless Kids situation. At the beginning of the story, dear Malorie is living alone in a house with two kids. And she calls them "Boy" and "Girl." Seriously? I'm sorry but no. At first I was naïve enough to think there was a reason behind this. Something like, I don't know, "let's wait and see if we can escape this nightmare alive and then I'll bother to give you actual names." But no, there was no reason at all. And the worse thing is, the kids had names all along! And yet Malorie kept calling them Boy and Girl *shakes head* I don't know what the author tried to do here but the only thing he managed was to turn the kids into cardboard characters with no personalities. They are completely insignificant, just two "things" that trail behind Malorie. And to be honest, I didn't care about them at all.

So while part of the story revolves around Malorie and The Nameless Kids, the other part takes us back in time, when the whole "see me and turn batshit crazy" thing began. It's an alternating chapter kind of thing: one chapter in the past, one chapter in the present. And it wasn't too bad. The author did a decent job of it, except that the "now" chapters were much weaker than the "before" ones. To be honest, I thought the present-time chapters were pretty boring. And the part of the story that takes place in the past, well, I guess people who like closed-community/survivalist-type plots might enjoy it. But me? 



I don't know, it just didn't do it for me. Besides, there were too many inconsistencies and plot holes along the way. Too many questions unanswered. None of the characters were likeable, expect from Tom (who only gets a few chapters) and Victor the dog. But the main problem here? The total, utter lack of please-freak-me-out scenes. Many reviewers mention "the attic scene" (ooooooooohhhhhh) as being my-heart-almost-stopped-beating material. I just thought it was (mostly) silly. And the other supposedly "intense" scenes left me unimpressed. I can't believe this book was nominated for best in Horror in the Goodreads Choice Awards. Okay, so there's a little suspense but Horror? Hahahahaha. No.

And the ending of the book? Sigh. I think it was the worst part of it all. A major cop-out. You know, the "hey, I don't how the hell to end my book so I'll just leave it at that" kind of cop-out. Not to mention how ridiculous the whole thing was. I mean, really? You couldn't come up with a better idea? Well to be honest, there is one good thing about this ending. It made me want to watch Dr No again. Yes it did. Why? Because the final scene made me think of this (view spoiler)[don't click if you're planning on reading the book! (hide spoiler)](view spoiler)[
  

  

  
 (hide spoiler)] Very cool ♫♫Underneath the mango tree, me honey and me can watch for the moon...♫♫ Oops, sorry about that, I tend to get carried away whenever Mr Bond is around.

So, where does that leave us? Nowhere I'm afraid. Sorry Mr Malerman. You came up with a great premise but the execution was sorely lacking. Besides, I'm still waiting to be horrified, petrified and generally creeped out.

Jessica Guht

I watched the movie when it first came out and didn't know it was based off a book until after. This is a perfect example of both book and movie being awesome, but the book answers so many questions and gives so much backstory. It also brings to light a lot of things that you don't think about, like making sure to wake up with your eyes closed.

Milo Jean

I enjoyed this. I’ve been in a reading slump so this book was refreshing since I had the constant need to pick it up. It was a pretty quick read, to the point where I was confused at how it was going to end since there wasn’t much left in the book. The writing was very atmospheric, the overall book was creepy not really scary but I didn’t mind that. 

I wish we had gotten an explanation for how this all started just because that’s the type of person I am, but I understand why there wouldn’t be one… that’s life after all. 

I think I will be thinking about this book for some time to come.

Erin Russell

Brilliant. I'm going to say this is the best book I have read this year. I know there are 2 weeks left of this year but I doubt I'll find a book that hits the spot better than this one did before then. I highly recommend it.

daisy

this book got me chills and i just feel so scared the wholetime while reading this. this book fucked me up in a way that i couldnt even grasp.. so fucking good.

Emir Andrés Ibañez

Este libro nos muestra una realidad apocalíptica donde la gente vive encerrada y/o con los ojos vendados porque allá afuera hay "algo" que, si lo vés, enloquecés y te suicidás. Muy buena premisa. Muy bien escrito, se siente la presión y la claustrofobia y el miedo. Pero siendo que las storylines que eligió para contarla fueron pésimas. Muy aburridas :(

Olivera Mitić

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn this was intense!

Super gripping, super fast paced and hard to put down (erh, if you can use this phrase for audio books). 

The premise completely caught my attention and I found myself wanting to fly through this novel as fast as I could. And I did. And the audio format was just the right way to do it. 

Malerman's thriller was exceptionally well written (the line 'How far can a person hear?' will probably haunt me for the rest of my days) and the chapter length was perfect, as well as the switch of timelines. 

But, having said all that, the ending didn't completely deliver. We never got the complete resolution, never got the insight into what was actually going on, and it just drove me insane (lol, get the joke?)

4,5/5 stars and damn, I wish this were a movie.

Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar and John Malkovich! 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.

A Novel

Carla Borralho

Abby Hoggatt

Spooky, gave me chills, and I thought it was better than the movie!

celeste

Well, this was one creepy ass book for sure.
The ending wasn't what I was expecting though, I felt like the things that happened were too convenient for the main character, and I also hate the fact that we never get to learn what had caused the world to go mad and what those creatures were. However, it was a very well crafted story and a fast-paced creepy book, perfect for this time of the year.

Bird Box

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