Josh Malerman's Bird Box - Review

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A chilling psychological horror thriller about a woman’s fight for survival for herself and her two young children.

‘Bird Box’ is a post-apocalyptic tale, led by Malorie, who, after years of waiting, decides the day that she and her two young children will escape the home that has become their prison has arrived. She lives in a future where it is no longer safe to see in the world outside. Blindfolded, they make their way to a boat and begin their journey on the river.

Flashbacks reveal how, years before, Malorie was living with her sister when she discovered she was pregnant, just as the attacks were first beginning. People were attacking and killing each other and finally themselves. Speculation grew and it soon became clear that all the attacks and deaths happened after the victims saw something. Malorie finds her way to other survivors; a group of them living in the house of a man who tragically died while striving to find a way to overcome what lay outside.

Malerman expertly builds paranoid tension, drawing out each of the characters’ fears, exploring how the deprivation of sight affects them. The survivors strive to find ways to live, while the mistrust between them begins to bloom. The arrival of a new survivor builds more tension, while the creatures outside may be closer than they dare to believe.

Captivating and unsettling in equal measure, ‘Bird Box’ is a fantastic debut novel; Malerman expertly builds the horror to a crescendo, never letting the tension slip throughout. The characters are well-developed, driving the plot forward, particularly Malorie, Tom and Gary.

I shall be adding Malerman’s others books to my future to-read list and am also eager to see the Netflix adaption starring Sandra Bullock.



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