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Writer's pictureLafourche Parish Public Library

Van's Pick: Bird Box by Josh Malerman


In Bird Box, brilliantly imaginative debut author Josh Malerman captures an apocalyptic near-future world, where a mother and her two small children must make their way down a river, blindfolded. One wrong choice and they will die.


Bird Box was written by nominated Bram Stoker Award author Josh Malerman. The book received positive critical reception and would become a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock.


The story is a post apocalyptic novel in which strange creatures have invaded the earth. One sight of these beings causes one to commit suicide. Quickly much of the earth’s population has been decimated and the survivors have locked themselves up in boarded up houses to avoid seeing these creatures. Malorie and her two children survive for three months but eventually venture out into the ravaged world to seek help and supplies. They are blindfolded and will have to travel twenty miles downriver to what they hope will be assistance and sanctuary. Their journey will be terrifying and something is following them. By novel’s end they will encounter everything from an insane man, a group of vicious birds, and a wolf pack.


The story is told vividly and graphically. The author does an exceptional job building a foreboding mood that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The characters of Malorie and her children are well written and will have the reader really routing for these characters. The mysterious creature following them adds tension and horror to the entire story. The characters are blindfolded during their terrifying journey relying only on their hearing thus the tense mood is palpable. Fans of post apocalyptic survival stories like The Walking Dead television series or wilderness survival pieces will love this book.


Availability: Book; eBook & eAudiobook in cloudLibrary Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it) Reviewer: Van, Reference Librarian

 

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AWARDS: LibraryReads Favorites: 2014

GENRE: Apocalyptic Fiction; Debut Title; Horror; Page to Screen

THEME: Band of Survivors (Teamwork means survival in these stories of people working together -- whether out of desperation or by choice - to survive disasters.); Final Girls (Final girls are the lone female survivors of a horrific event -- from serial killers to supernatural monsters. They battle, and even defeat, the creatures ordinary humans can't face. Whether through virginity or ingenuity, a final girl is a heroine for the ages.); Trapped! (Characters here are trapped by the monster, rather than being chased. Think isolated cabins, Arctic research bases, submarines, space ships, graves, elevators. This is very prevalent in zombie novels.)

PACE: Leisurely Paced

WRITING STYLE: Compelling; Descriptive

TONE: Disturbing; Suspenseful; Violent

CHARACTER: Strong Female

SUBJECT: Blindness; Dystopias; End of the World; Hysteria; Mental Illness; Monsters; Mother & Child; Sensory Deprivation; Suicide; Survival; Violence


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