Bird Box by Josh Malerman

RATING: 4.5/5 BEANS
PUBLISHER: ECCO BOOKS/HARPERCOLLINS

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, 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 remains, 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’s 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. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

I couldn’t help but read this book as if I were reading the pages of a well-written screenplay. Josh Malerman does a fantastic job of pulling you in right from the start. And he took the responsibility of creating a strong female character seriously and handled the role with great care. 

BRAVO JOSH. *INSERT SHIA LEBEOUF APPLAUSE GIF HERE

This is a mini review, so I’m not going to get too much into the plot but instead talk a little bit more about Malerman’s writing style. Personally, I’m a huge fan of blunt prose. Quick, staccato repetition. Serve it up to me hot, Chuck Palahniuk hot, because that’s just how I like it. I know that may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s mine. So yeah I dig it. 

“YOU CAN SMELL IT, TOO. DEATH. DYING. DECAY. THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS DYING, THE SKY IS DEAD.” -BIRD BOX

Thank you Michael Ulrich for this awesome recommend. I didn’t think anything would be able to save me from the depths of this dark reading slump after completing Station Eleven, but Bird Box delivered. It kept me turning the pages, without being too creepy. I’d say it’s, M. Night Shyamalan creepy (M. Night in his glory days). Just the right amount of creepy to keep me up at night and just enough “psychological thrill” to keep me guessing. 

If you like fast-paced, imaginative thrillers, I highly recommend Bird Box!

4.5/5 Beans