Review Tuesday: Malorie: A Bird Box Novel by Josh Malerman

 

Malorie

A Bird Box Novel

by Josh Malerman 

Years after the events of BIRD BOX, we have a look into the blindfolded world of Malorie and her two kids. 

After the commercial success of the Netflix film BIRD BOX, Josh Malerman decided to revisit that world and give the fans some more details, and some closure. 

 

You can check out my reviews for the MOVIE and the BOOK version of BIRD BOX.  

At the end of BIRD BOX, Malorie, Tom, and Olympia blindly find their way along a river to arrive at a school for the blind. What safer place can there be in a world where something you see can cause madness? Apparently, Malorie never felt secure with that thought and it ultimately saved the lives of her family. Two years after arriving at the school for the blind, SOMEHOW a creature had gotten in and and caused a murderous rage within the building. The three of them escaped and found their way to an abandoned summer camp that was nicely stocked with supplies. 

 

Another ten years of safety elapses in this location until a man arrived. Saying he was from the Census, he wanted to interview this group, to take down their stories and to add them to his work, as well as exchange his own experiences. By the point Malorie had been living the seventeen years since the arrival of the creatures behind a blindfold in complete paranoia. Why not? It's kept them alive this entire time, after-all. The Census man leaves his literature behind, creating the adventure for the rest of the book. 

 

I will not go into any more of the story or give any spoilers. What I will say is that this book is full of thrill and suspense. I mean it. At points I had to put down the book and say to myself, oh no, NO, (s)he didn't just do that, did (s)he??? 

 

Interestingly, this book was, at least in part, in some fo the earlier incarnations of BIRD BOX, which might explain why some people didn't feel satisfied with that ending.  Malerman originally intended for there to be more, but cut it off so that the original book wouldn't be an epic opus like Dune and more readable. In that way, i think he did a splendid job, because, while I was fine with the way the original story ended, I had many questions. When there was word that a sequel novel was coming out the suspense was already building. What will it be about? At what point will it take place? Where have they gone? What are the creatures up to NOW? What is left of humanity?

 

I was very happy with this book. The horrors that people inflicted upon each-other because things they couldn't comprehend, as usual, far worse than the actual horror. Fear of the unknown leads to suspicion and paranoia. Is a safe life as a hermit even worth living, without friends or family? Do you confront your own personal boogeyman? These are all concepts dealt with in the book. One of the biggest differences from the original book and the movie was, they carried a box with birds in it as a warning for when the creatures were around. No such thing happened in the book. However, at the end of this book, he explains the metaphor. Your mind is a box with birds in it, and when the madness sets in, the birds escape.

 

I was very happy with this book and highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the original book and/or the movie. If you didn't like the ending og the originals, I, then, recommend reading this book because it should answer some of your questions. 

  

Get it on AMAZON