Bird Box by Josh Malerman

June 21, 2019

It started in Russia but now it’s everywhere. People are killing themselves in brutal ways after seeing… something. The world is on edge and everyone has theories but none of them make sense. What do they see? Who’s the enemy? No one knows, because they never live long enough to tell. The moment you lay eyes on these beings, you’re doomed.

Malorie has already lost her sister in this alien invasion and decides to try her luck in a safe house she found in an ad. The safe house becomes her home but every day is a struggle of survival. As our main character, Malorie is very sympathetic. She’s pregnant in a world where she can’t even show her child the flowers outside in the garden. She’s scared, desperate and gradually begins to see her allies in the house as family. However, the world can’t be trusted and it’s only a matter of time before people begin to lose their minds – in the old way.

I won’t give away more about the events or the characters since the book is rather short. You should know, however, that there are some explicit scenes and brutal happenings before going into it.

So yeah, this one is a bit off for the season. In the midst of all the sunshine and blooming flowers I was craving something dark. I picked up Bird Box after watching the movie months ago and for once, I enjoyed both. Usually, watching the movie first leaves no imagination for the book but that wasn’t the case. It was actually nice picturing Bullock’s face in this madness of a story.

I read some reviews on GR and I was kind of shocked. Among the many positive reviews, some were saying “Nothing happens”, “It’s boring” etc. Well, if you’re expecting an apocalypse action party a la 2012 you might be disappointed. Despite the alien beings, I really loved how realistic this book was. It’s not jam-packed with action and heroes but deals so well with fear, doubting every decision, trust and survival.

I’m not a chicken, I actually enjoy horror movies, but I did not like reading this book late at night. The plot itself is not that scary but the atmosphere is constantly creepy as hell. The claustrophobia from being blind to the world, never knowing if an ally you just talked to is dead, alive or has gone insane.. you feel it all very intensely!

I highly recommend this creepy thriller to anyone who likes to feel alive.
(And yes, a sequel is actually happening! You can check it out through the link below.)

page count: 290
Goodreads rating: 4/5

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