cat97's review against another edition
5.0
Die Atmosphäre hat mich umgehauen und daher war es ein absoluter Pageturner, der mich durch die zwei Jahrzehnte begleitete!
humgruffin's review against another edition
3.0
As someone who loves names and is completely fascinated by name etymology, I cannot possibly root for anyone who calls their children 'Girl' and 'Boy'.
kelleyannelyse's review against another edition
5.0
No one knows what “it” is, but seeing it for even a second drives people to grisly violence and ultimately, without fail, suicide. Bird Box is an unspeakable horror fraught with paranoia and palpable terror – caught between what you know and what you don’t know, this book will engulf you completely turning your imagination into your own worst enemy. This book is perfect for the Halloween season and if you love creepy books. It's absolutely un-put-down-able, I read it in less than a day.
futurememory's review against another edition
4.0
Another one in the books for October! I do love getting my creep on during this time of year...
Bird Box is definitely suspenseful, and really well-paced. If I had had the time, I could have easily devoured this in one sitting. Malerman's chapters are terse, and the novel is overall the perfect length. I enjoyed how much of Bird Box's world is unknown. What lurks where you can't see?
One criticism - Jose Saramago's Blindness has a LOT in common with Bird Box, and I found that classic to be far more harrowing and terrifying. Blindness is horrible, horrible reading. Unpleasant and awful, in the best possible way. Bird Box is faster, jumpier - the younger sibling, perhaps.
Still, really, really enjoyable.
Bird Box is definitely suspenseful, and really well-paced. If I had had the time, I could have easily devoured this in one sitting. Malerman's chapters are terse, and the novel is overall the perfect length. I enjoyed how much of Bird Box's world is unknown. What lurks where you can't see?
One criticism - Jose Saramago's Blindness has a LOT in common with Bird Box, and I found that classic to be far more harrowing and terrifying. Blindness is horrible, horrible reading. Unpleasant and awful, in the best possible way. Bird Box is faster, jumpier - the younger sibling, perhaps.
Still, really, really enjoyable.
jennifer_92's review against another edition
2.0
*UPDATED*
So after sleeping on this book a couple of days, I’ve dropped my rating. It’s probably a 2.5, MAYBE a 3.
The longer I think about, the less I like it. I have so many questions. And not the good kind to be left with after finishing a novel, like wanting more; but the kind that leave me feeling like I need closure so I can leave it in the past. It left me with a feeling of being unfulfilled.
The book was pretty intense, and I can honestly say I never guessed what was going to happen next (seriously, Josh, are you okay though?) But that ending was... it was BAD. When I finished it, I flipped past the ‘acknowledgement’ because I thought “there’s no way that’s the end... right?”
Long story short: the longer I think about it, and the more I write, the more disappointed and unfulfilled I become.
Edit to add (minor spoiler... maybe?): When the “bird box” was actually introduced to the story, I got excited because I for sure (like100%) thought that would be a sub-major plot point leading to something freaking crazy. But then it was “oh hey, they make noise” and that Cheryl (who I’m almost positive COMPLETELY disappeared for a chunk of the book) likes to feed them.
UGH!! I think this is the first book I’ve ever read that I’ve gotten more and more unhappy the longer I have to think about what I read.
So after sleeping on this book a couple of days, I’ve dropped my rating. It’s probably a 2.5, MAYBE a 3.
The longer I think about, the less I like it. I have so many questions. And not the good kind to be left with after finishing a novel, like wanting more; but the kind that leave me feeling like I need closure so I can leave it in the past. It left me with a feeling of being unfulfilled.
The book was pretty intense, and I can honestly say I never guessed what was going to happen next (seriously, Josh, are you okay though?) But that ending was... it was BAD. When I finished it, I flipped past the ‘acknowledgement’ because I thought “there’s no way that’s the end... right?”
Long story short: the longer I think about it, and the more I write, the more disappointed and unfulfilled I become.
Edit to add (minor spoiler... maybe?): When the “bird box” was actually introduced to the story, I got excited because I for sure (like100%) thought that would be a sub-major plot point leading to something freaking crazy. But then it was “oh hey, they make noise” and that Cheryl (who I’m almost positive COMPLETELY disappeared for a chunk of the book) likes to feed them.
UGH!! I think this is the first book I’ve ever read that I’ve gotten more and more unhappy the longer I have to think about what I read.
kelseymn18's review against another edition
4.0
[b:Bird Box|18498558|Bird Box|Josh Malerman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383949470s/18498558.jpg|26186624] was creepy, suspenseful and well-written, and I did not want to put it down! I especially loved how it was set up, switching between the present, where Malorie and the two children are escaping to some mysterious safe haven, and flashbacks that show how the madness spread and how Malorie and company tried to survive.
While I loved most of the story, the ending was very underwhelming. It happened too quickly and left some major questions unanswered. Most disappointing was the fact that we never find out what's happening and what's killing everyone! Is it some weird disease? Is the earth taking revenge a la The Happening? Did some alien species take over? Is it all mental and people are making themselves go mad? WHAT WAS IT?! I think the author chose to leave it a mystery because the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown, which makes sense thematically. But at the same, not having an explanation at the end felt like a cop-out on the author's part. The main reason I couldn't put the book down was because I wanted to get to the end and find out what was going on, and sadly, I was left hanging.
Overall, the story is told very well and has just the right amount of creepiness, but the ending could have been better and more thought out.
While I loved most of the story, the ending was very underwhelming. It happened too quickly and left some major questions unanswered. Most disappointing was the fact that we never find out what's happening and what's killing everyone! Is it some weird disease? Is the earth taking revenge a la The Happening? Did some alien species take over? Is it all mental and people are making themselves go mad? WHAT WAS IT?! I think the author chose to leave it a mystery because the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown, which makes sense thematically. But at the same, not having an explanation at the end felt like a cop-out on the author's part. The main reason I couldn't put the book down was because I wanted to get to the end and find out what was going on, and sadly, I was left hanging.
Overall, the story is told very well and has just the right amount of creepiness, but the ending could have been better and more thought out.
pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
IN addition to being one of the scariest fucking things I have read in a whole year of reading nothing but horror and picture books, Bird Box is just stunningly well-crafted. The narrative ducks back and forth between the present, when a woman and her small children leave the claustrophobic and tenuous safety of her home for an unknown destination, and the events leading up to the children's birth, when she and a small group attempt to defend themselves against a plague of madness that seems to have descended upon the world. It doesn't READ like the author wrote it with a chart in front of him - What Malorie Knows in one column and What the Reader Knows in another - but the way that revelations unfold for the reader is so natural and seamless...well I'm just saying, there's a science to this stuff, as well as art. NICE.
carrielion143's review against another edition
5.0
This is such an interesting and thought provoking story. It will keep you wide awake and listening to every creak of you home. Best horror book I've read in years. All the stars! I can't stop telling people about it!
oddly's review against another edition
4.0
I love this book and I loved re-discovering the story through audio. If I had a recommendation for this one, I’d say just read it for yourself, as the narrator grated on my nerves a bit, making all the female characters sound needy and wimpy and all the male characters sound suspicious and too gruff. Not exactly what was needed from a strong female-led book.
So get the physical copy and definitely read this one!
So get the physical copy and definitely read this one!