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A review by asourceoffiction
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am reeling from this story, possibly because I devoured it in 24 hours which made it quite an immersive experience. Bird Box is in my head.
From the very beginning we are drip-fed a mystery which is never explained or solved. It's a seemingly outlandish scenario which results in clusters of survivors who must stay indoors and forever hide their eyes from what lurks outside. There's a faint sense of the ridiculous, but the fear that gripped the characters, of what cannot be seen or known, was enough to completely engross me. Add to that a desperate, isolated mother raising her children to be constantly afraid and never look outside, and I just could not put it down.
The writing is incredibly clever. With my eyes wide open I felt completely exposed while reading, and the tension that builds slowly throughout the book became a physical sensation for me by the end. I finished the book with clenched fists; every horror that Malorie experiences, she does so through her other senses. What she cannot see she must assume, and the cause of it all remains unknowable. I absolutely loved it.
From the very beginning we are drip-fed a mystery which is never explained or solved. It's a seemingly outlandish scenario which results in clusters of survivors who must stay indoors and forever hide their eyes from what lurks outside. There's a faint sense of the ridiculous, but the fear that gripped the characters, of what cannot be seen or known, was enough to completely engross me. Add to that a desperate, isolated mother raising her children to be constantly afraid and never look outside, and I just could not put it down.
The writing is incredibly clever. With my eyes wide open I felt completely exposed while reading, and the tension that builds slowly throughout the book became a physical sensation for me by the end. I finished the book with clenched fists; every horror that Malorie experiences, she does so through her other senses. What she cannot see she must assume, and the cause of it all remains unknowable. I absolutely loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Suicide, Violence, and Murder