BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman
I’m a latecomer to Malerman’s gripping novel, BIRD BOX, which was published in 2014, but perhaps some other fans of horror and post-apocalyptic fiction have missed out on it, too.
BIRD BOX, which gets its name from the caged birds whose cooing is supposed to warn of approaching intruders, is a fast-paced, intensely creepy tale that starts with an ambitious premise – the world is suddenly populated with creatures that, once looked upon, drive humans into a suicidal rage.
We meet Malorie, a young woman on a twenty mile boat trip upriver with her two children, the unnamed Boy and Girl. All are blindfolded. Malorie relies on the children’s preternaturally keen sense of hearing to tell her when danger is near. Malerman does a fine job of ratcheting up the suspense as the trio approach potential threats. Is that rustling in the bushes a human being? Is that musky smell a prowling wolf or dog? Malorie and the kids are never sure, but to give in to temptation and remove the blindfolds could mean a swift and violent death.
Flashbacks to four years earlier intersperse the saga of Malorie’s desperate canoe trip to find a new sanctuary. At that time she lived with a small group of survivors in the same house she and her children are now fleeing; in fact, she gave birth to them there, unattended and terrified. The flashbacks tell us a lot about life in the house with the drawn shades and about a world where every activity taking place outdoors has to be performed wearing a blindfold, but there’s not much fleshing out of the characters. I’d have liked to know more about these people with whom Malorie shared the dark house, other than their penchant for quarreling among themselves, but I fully identified with their angst – when comrades leave the house to gather provisions, who knows what they may have seen by the time they return?
BIRD BOX is both deeply disturbing and very hard to put down. Malerman’s fiction lures us into a nightmare world where not seeing what’s out there may or may not kill you, but taking off the blindfold to look most certainly will.
BIRD BOX, which gets its name from the caged birds whose cooing is supposed to warn of approaching intruders, is a fast-paced, intensely creepy tale that starts with an ambitious premise – the world is suddenly populated with creatures that, once looked upon, drive humans into a suicidal rage.
We meet Malorie, a young woman on a twenty mile boat trip upriver with her two children, the unnamed Boy and Girl. All are blindfolded. Malorie relies on the children’s preternaturally keen sense of hearing to tell her when danger is near. Malerman does a fine job of ratcheting up the suspense as the trio approach potential threats. Is that rustling in the bushes a human being? Is that musky smell a prowling wolf or dog? Malorie and the kids are never sure, but to give in to temptation and remove the blindfolds could mean a swift and violent death.
Flashbacks to four years earlier intersperse the saga of Malorie’s desperate canoe trip to find a new sanctuary. At that time she lived with a small group of survivors in the same house she and her children are now fleeing; in fact, she gave birth to them there, unattended and terrified. The flashbacks tell us a lot about life in the house with the drawn shades and about a world where every activity taking place outdoors has to be performed wearing a blindfold, but there’s not much fleshing out of the characters. I’d have liked to know more about these people with whom Malorie shared the dark house, other than their penchant for quarreling among themselves, but I fully identified with their angst – when comrades leave the house to gather provisions, who knows what they may have seen by the time they return?
BIRD BOX is both deeply disturbing and very hard to put down. Malerman’s fiction lures us into a nightmare world where not seeing what’s out there may or may not kill you, but taking off the blindfold to look most certainly will.
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