Bird Box by Josh Malerman

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I am having a difficult time with this one because I have two very different opinions of this book. It's like I have two distinct little people in my brain fighting to convince me of their stance.

On one hand, I loved many of the ideas and the overall premise the author introduced us to. I don't mind that we the reader are never exposed to the "creatures". I still think there's something to be said for fear of the unseen or unknown. And there were parts of this novel that were genuinely creepy - without even giving us anything to be creeped out by. Particularly towards the beginning, the onset of the going-mad-and-killing-others-then-killing-yourself epidemic and the discussions of what the "creatures" could be. Now I am not going to get all psychoanalytical, but I am intrigued, if not mentally rattled, by the concept that our minds can be our greatest enemy and are to blame for majority of our demons. When it seemed as though the storyline was going to take a turn down this path, I got excited. Unfortunately, the storyline turned out to be a 1993 rusted out Ford Pinto with a busted muffler and empty gas tank, so it just sputtered out and died before actually taking me anywhere worthwhile. Or believable.

Herein lies this novel's fatal flaw. It was one of the least realistic and vaguely explained stories I've ever read. And I am perfectly fine suspending belief for the sake of a fictional novel (I read an entire novel from the POV of an unborn fetus for crying out loud), but this one just seemed lazy. Not going into detail for the "creatures" is one thing, but neglecting to expand on how the hell Malorie was able to survive FOUR years on her own with two babies in an apocalyptic world where you cannot open your eyes was absurd. As was expecting the reader to believe this woman could successfully drive a car, explore a downtown street, find and set up what sounded like a sophisticated speaker system, and row a boat down an unfamiliar river - all while blindfolded. COME ON. Most people couldn't even navigate around their own home with their eyes closed (without falling down a flight of stairs or two), but this woman was capable of surviving, which had to include routine trips outside into the dangerous world full of "creatures" to acquire food at the very least, without using her sight? Nah. I'll pass on buying into that.

And Gary? So he was just crazy enough to not be effected by the creatures or what? Pointless plot device character. And the ending. All this build up for a rubbish weird semi - happy ending? The author could of at least given us something climactic (since the whole novel was pretty flat) and had Malorie and the kids open their eyes only to realize their sanctuary School for the Blind was full of creatures waiting to finally turn them mad. Of course the blind people thought they lived in a safehouse - they couldn't see the "creatures"! Ha - joke's on Malorie and Boy and Girl (I won't even go there with the kid's ridiculous non-names). I'd much prefer that ending to what we actually were given.

Okay so clearly of the two people fighting in my head, the one that thinks this novel was a bunch of wasted potential won in the end. I'd read this premise again, but only if someone promised to do it better. And I'd make them pinky swear.



View all my reviews