Bird Box audiobook

this is an incredibly original horror/psychological suspense novel that reminds us that with all great horror, the unseen is so much more terrifying than the seen. this is why japanese horror movies are so effective. they don't rely on graphic special effects to build the suspense, and the way they manipulate shadows, sounds, and background space creates an unparalleled atmosphere that leaves a more lasting, haunting impression than "crazy chainsaw-toting psychopath" splatter films. which, don't get me wrong, are also super-entertaining. Bird Box takes place after an eerie phenomenon begins to occur on a global scale. starting in russia, moving to alaska, and eventually making its way to "a nice suburb of Detroit" where our story picks up, people begin to see…something. no one knows what this "something" is, because once it has been seen, it drives people to madness and suicide, frequently with some homicides along the way. people begin boarding up their windows, blackening their windshields, and staying away from other people. there is no way of knowing what this "something" wants, where it came from, what form it takes, or what the future of humanity will be.malorie is living in a house with two children, both only four years old. from the time of their birth, she has been training "boy" and "girl" to live in this new world, making them wear blindfolds outside and putting them through rigorous tests to train them until they have the preternatural hearing of bats. all this preparation is for the day they will finally leave the house and try to find others, to find a safer place to live. the story is told in alternating chapters between malorie "now" and malorie at the beginning of the event, finding out she is pregnant just as the world begins to collapse.we don't learn much about the origin of the event, but we do get to witness how people respond to the experience, which for me and my survival bent is book-gold. this book does tension and people-thrown-into-isolated-community so, so well. under the dome, take notes.how terrifying is it to not be able to see?? to hear a noise right behind you and not know what it is?? to leave a safe house to forage for food and not be certain you will ever find your way back?? to drive a car blindfolded through corpse-studded roads and not know if you will hit a pole or fall into a ditch?? to determine what is danger and what is just a leaf falling? this is the best kind of building, creeping horror, and the writing is perfectly suited to the story. it is maddening at times when you want to be able to "see" what is happening, but you are at the mercy of the characters' limited vision. impeccably done.and that attic scene?? holy shit - that was so freaking intense. i still have a handful of minor questions (and one very major one) but they don't detract from my overall positive impression of the book. the premise alone gives it an edge over most horror novels, because it has been a long time since i have come across anything "new" in that genre, and you cannot beat the killer, page-turning suspense.debut novel from a musician?? quit your day job, friend.come to my blog!

”Creatures…infinity…our minds have ceilings, Malorie...these things...they are beyond it…higher than it…out of reach…out of--BUT HERE” Whatever you do DON’T OPEN YOUR EYES!!Malorie has just confirmed she is pregnant the very day that people begin killing themselves. News travels so fast now. Something can happen in Cairo. Someone can film it, load it to the internet, and within minutes of the event occurring someone in Des Moines is watching what happened. News, mostly tragic news, from around the world now impacts us instantaneously. The world, consequently, feels like a much more dangerous place than it did 50 years ago. So when this new phenomenon starts happening everyone knows about it very quickly. Terror escalates exponentially, and has reached a highly sustained level long before this catastrophe has contaminated the whole world. ”What kind of a man cowers when the end of the world comes? When his brothers are killing themselves, when the streets of suburban America are infested with murder...what kind of man hides behind blankets and blindfolds? The answer is MOST men. They were told they would go mad. So they go mad.”It turns out everyone was right to be afraid. There is something out there. If you see it... you go insane. It goes through the world population like a pestilent storm. We have windows in our dwellings, in our work buildings,and in our schools because we WATCH the world. It only takes a moment, a need that can’t be ignored, one parting of a curtain, for us to see one of these creatures, and become deranged. We do violent things to ourselves.The lizard inside us meant to fight when flight is not an option turns inward. To live, we must reside in darkness, shrouded by blindfolds, tucked in dwellings behind blanketed windows. It is maddening to have our world reduced to so little. So what are these creatures and do they know what they do to us?After Malorie’s sister Shannon kills herself with a pair of scissors, Malorie is all alone. Some kook has been offering sanctuary at his house in newspaper ads when this manifestation first started to appear. Suddenly, with her changed circumstances, the kook becomes her best option. The kook is dead, but the people he sheltered are still alive. Tom and Jules are the alpha males who take chances, range the farthest away, blindfolded and with sticks to guide them, to find necessary supplies. Don is the weakest, the one that has found it hardest to adjust. He is also the most cynical.”They’ll eventually get us, Don said. There’s no reason to think otherwise. It’s end times, people. And if it’s a matter of a creature our brains are incapable of comprehending, then we deserve it. I always assumed the end would come because of our own stupidity.”For a few blissful months Malorie can feel reasonably safe nestled in the routine of this small group of survivors. Meanwhile her tummy is getting rounder. Then Gary arrives. He whispers things to Don. Like any good charlatan he can pick the most vulnerable out of a crowd. He can sense their doubts before he ever hears them express them.. Gary thinks he is immune. Which begs the question, if the bindings that keep our minds anchored in sanity have long been shorn away can the creatures do anymore damage?There are two time lines at play in this book. One is during the few months when Malorie is with the sanctuary group. The other is four years later when she is raising two children that have never seen...well...anything beyond the cramped world of one house. ”The same colors. The same colors. The same colors for years. YEARS. Are you prepared? And what scares you more? The creatures or yourself, as the memories of a million sights and colors come flooding toward you? What scares you more?Josh Malerman does a fantastic job building the suspense, allowing the tension to stretch nerves to the breaking point. Information is opaque. He doesn’t cheat and give the reader information before the characters figure something out. I kept thinking of the movie Monsters from 2010. There are monsters; and yet, we are not allowed to see them. We hear them. We see the reactions of the characters, and somehow the terror is more acute when our brain does not have a shape, an entity to project our fear onto. Our mounting terror is allowed to gallop unrestrained, and each of us conjures our own version of a terrifying specter.”You add the details, she thinks. It’s your idea of what they look like, and details are added to a body and a shape that you have no concept of. To a face that might have no face at all.”Malerman has created a dystopia that will play on all your fears and will stir up all your insecurities. You will question whether you can live in a world where one glimpse of a sun dappled street might cost you your life. Highly recommended for those that like books that will cost them some sleep. As a companion volume read Blindness by Jose Saramago If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.comI also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten

5/5 ⭐Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺This book, this fabulous book (that made me cover my windows with some thick curtains when outside is broad daylight and forced me to double-check my desire to leave the house and also my sanity) just had me hooked until the end. Bird Box, you did things to my brain I didn’t know something could do. Congrats, you little biscuit!I am going to begin with a fact: this book scared the shit out of me sometimes. It is this kind of book that uses that extra-sensorial capacity of yours of feeling something creepy breathing down your neck. Hell, it is an apocalyptic dystopian book after all, what was I expecting? Nothing but the best, right?The way the novel is composed is a bit frustrating, because, unlike other novels, the lack of details at the beginning is present throughout the narration, details being revealed later, as the plot moves on. The chapters are quite short (for which I am very grateful!) and succeed each other in a race of past and present, in a time interval of almost 5 years. It shows the evolution of the fate of humanity and also, an evolution of a particular person: Malorie.“You are saving their lives for a life not worth living.”The book is a mother’s destiny. It is every mother’s sacrifice for her children, pushed to the extreme, because, sometimes, being a mother means to make the deadliest sacrifices and to make the most dangerous decisions in order to keep your children safe. But, in an abnormal world, what would those sacrifices evolve into? How far must mothers like Malorie go?Everything is constructed around Malorie’s destiny, past, present and future. Everything seems to concentrate on her like the Universe put its own faith on her shoulders. Malorie seems like is somehow "punished" to live in a world where you are warned about the danger, you know there is danger, but you are not able to see the danger. And this makes things difficult because the sight is the most dominant sense of a living creature, the one a living creature depends on the most. Without it, the adaption to life is just so much harder. Just think of a world in which you are constantly threatened and you have to learn how to defend yourself without seeing what you are fighting. Now, take that and add two four-year-olds. Do you know what does that equal? Even a more profound danger and fear than before. A desire to live, but also to die. And this is what Malorie has to face. To save herself and her two four-years-old children from something that they can’t name, but they know it is there. Survival, but next level.“How can she expect her children to dream big as the stars if they can’t lift their heads to gaze upon them?”How can a mother bear the feeling to desire to save her children when there is no desire for living in a wicked world like that? What kind of internal passion do you need to have to do that? What does it take to never give up hope? To still fight for something? We will never know for sure, but we always must keep going. There will be always something to fight for.

Close your eyes and imagine the basso sound of voiceover icon Don LaFontaine intoning, “In a world gone mad…” and that is pretty much where Bird Box begins. Open your eyes and go mad. Kill others, yourself. Can you keep from peeking? For how long? In Josh Malerman’s post-apocalyptic, eye-opening scare-scape, something happened. An invasion? Some natural phenomenon? No one is really certain. But what has become clear is that anyone who steps outside with their eyes open goes insane, not just gibbering or confused, but violently and destructively, homicidally mad. From the filmIn the near-future today of the story, Malorie is a young mother, with two small children in her charge. She has been training them for over four years, to hear, with a sensitivity and acuity more usually associated with flying mammals. They embark on a river journey to what she hopes is a safe haven, twenty miles away, blindfolded. Any noise could be someone, or something following them. She must rely on the skill she has rigorously drilled into the boy and girl every day to help guide them, and alert them to danger. And we must wonder if the destination she aims for will offer relief or some version of Mistah Kurtz.Chapters alternate, mostly, between the river journey and Malorie’s back story. We follow her from when The Problem began, seeing death and destruction in first a few isolated locations, then spreading everywhere, seeing loved ones succumb, then finding a place to live, a refuge, with others, and watch as they cope, or fail. In horror stories, it helps to have an appealing hero. I am sure most of us have seen our share of splatter films in which the demise of each obnoxious teen is met with cheers rather than with dismay. The other sort is of the Wait until Dark variety, in which our heart goes out to the Audrey Hepburn character beset by dark forces. Bird Box is the latter type. Malorie is a very sympathetic character, an everywoman trying her best under ridiculous circumstances, more the Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) of Nightmare On Elm Street or the Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) of Halloween, than the Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) of Alien, but Malorie does what she must to survive and to prepare with patience and diligence to sally forth against the unknown. Josh Malerman - image taken from This Is HorrorMalerman was bitten by the horror bug as an early teen: My big introduction wasTwilight Zone: the Movie, the first horror movie I ever saw. After that came Saturday Shockers and sneaking in whatever I could at a friend’s house (Faces of Death, Psycho… Blacula…Prom Night.) I was also reading a lot. There’s a great period of horror fiction history, before the novel-boom of the 70’s spearheaded by Rosemary’s Baby, The Other, and The Exorcist, in which the short story ruled the genre. That period is golden and completely bursting with ideas. I read M.R. James, H.P. Lovecraft, Poe, Blackwood, Bierce, et al. When you first approach it, the genre, it feels infinite, but it’s not. So, come high school, I was trying to write my own scary stories, weird poems, strange tales. (from Detroit CBS Local news interview) He likes to write with horror movie soundtracks on. And he is a musical sort as well, singing and playing in the band The High Strung. In fact, fans of Shameless, on Showtime, have already been exposed to Malerman’s work, as the writer and performer of that show’s theme song. The dynamics of the house-full of refugees in the back story will feel familiar. Who to let in, or not, concerns over sharing limited resources, discussions over what adventuresome risks might or might not be worth taking re looking toward the future, or in trying to learn more about the cause of their situation. One might be forgiven for seeing here a societal microcosm, but I do not really think this was what Malerman was on about. He does offer a bit of a larger, thematic view though, tied to the central image of the book, which definitely adds to the heft of the story. A wondering at more existential questions She thinks of the house as one big box. She wants out of this box. Tom and Jules, outside, are still in this box. The entire globe is shut in. The world is confined to the same cardboard box that houses the birds outside. Malorie understands that Tom is looking for a way to open the lid. He’s looking for a way out. But she wonders if there’s not a second lid above this one, then a third above that.Boxed in, she thinks. Forever. You really want Malorie to reach safety with the children, but there is a gauntlet to be run, and there is no certainty that any of them will make it. The dangers are human, natural and eldritch, and I mean that in a very Lovecraftian way. From the filmYou will definitely not want to put Bird Box down once you pick it up. This is a very scary, and gripping novel. If you are reading on the train, you may miss your stop. If you are reading at bedtime, you will definitely miss a few winks, and might want to sleep with the lights on after you finish. I think some horror authors are trying to scare you, but with me, I’m as scared as the reader is of the story. I’ve always been that way, since watching the Twilight Zone movie — watching Firestarter when my parents were out, or sneaking out to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street at a friend’s house because I couldn’t watch it at my house. That makes you doubly scared — of the movie, and of the possibility of Mom finding out. (from Metrotimes interview) A generic problem I have with the book is that the dark elements here sometimes tend to step back when they have decided advantages, failing to make the most (or worst as the case may be) of their positions. It was not obvious to me that there was some point being made by these unexpected choices. Nevertheless, Malerman takes the notion of the unseen and pushes readers to create the scariest thing of all, that which lurks in the imagination.It is not at all dangerous to see how much fun this book is. Usually it is considered a good thing to think outside the box, but in this case it is clearly a far, far better thing that Malerman has done his thinking inside one. The film, starring Sandra Bullock, is scheduled for release on November 12, 2018=============================EXTRA STUFFInterviews Huffington Post Detroit CBL Local News Metro Times JM on FBThe High Strung on FBJuly 23, 2020 - Crimereads - Nice, short piece by Malerman on the importance of scenario as at least equal to and maybe more important than character - What We Relate To When We Relate to Books

I made the mistake of watching the film first, but I still absolutely loved this book! Bird Box follows Malorie and her two children as they try to survive in a world that has completely changed. Creatures roam the planet, but one look at them causes you to become incredibly violent. This is one of the most unique concepts I’ve ever heard of and I absolutely love it. Malerman manages to transport the reader to a truly horrifying world, and really makes you question what you would do in the characters situation. I ended up really connecting to Tom and Jules, I loved their sacrifice and bravery for the greater good. I did struggle to connect with Malorie because of her brusque nature, but it was also necessary in order to protect herself and the children. Although I was not scared by this novel (it seems it is quite a hard feat to be able to scare me) I was thoroughly engrossed in every page. The rising tension and short chapters kept me reading much longer than I should have been. What I did not expect, was the tears that came to my eyes in the last couple of chapters. I found myself feeling incredibly emotional and had to pop the book down so I could gather myself. I would recommend holding out on watching the movie adaptation until after you have read this as it did lessen one of the ‘twists’ for me. Overall, this is an incredibly engrossing and tense read that I will never forget! I recommend this book to any fans of an apocalyptic thriller/horror.

I’m ###typing% this with a scarf* over£ my eyEs, so pLease# forgive @any typos+Please, please don’t do what I did, my fellow bookaneers.Don’t watch the movie first. This is a big mistake and to be avoided at all costs.The story began pulse-like. Staccato sentences that suited the stop/start tempo of a life lived in fear. Malerman’s Morse code narrative drew me in from the start.In an apocalyptic alternative reality, an abstract thing inhabits our planet; a demonic indescribable entity that, if gazed upon, will send a human being to his or her death. Malorie, our beleaguered heroine, has no option but to embark on a twenty-mile river trip to possible safety, blindfolded and in a small rowing boat. To make matters worse, she has two small children on board who are also blindfolded. The kids, used to living life under instruction, never complain. They just do what they’re told. Kept in the dark for much of their young lives, the children’s hearing is acute and so the river becomes their amphitheatre. And this is where the book knocks spots off the movie. The book’s raison d’être (that humans must not see in order to survive) is compromised in movie format because we, the viewer, can see, and so the fear of the unknown becomes diluted. Sound becomes so much a part of the book's DNA that I was almost listening to the pages! Though not usually a lover of lean prose and meagre character development, this book kept me in its thrall. And hats off to the author for imagining such an original and terrifying premise.Granted, it has its inconsistencies, but the story was fraught, sensory and claustrophobic. I applaud John Malerman for hitting the ground running with a nail-biting debut horror-thriller and I dearly wish I hadn’t seen the movie first.

Sister Read Review by Norma & BrendaUpdate: I watched the Netflix adaptation of this book and absolutely loved it but I was definitely more scared and creeped out while reading the book though. Holy Shooty Balls this was one heck of a creepy book! 5 creeped out Stars for Norma & 4 freaking out Stars for Brenda! So for the purpose of this Sister Read it gets a combined rating of 4.5 Stars!  BIRD BOX by JOSH MALERMAN is a wonderfully creepy, scary, eerie, and downright terrifying tale that grabbed our attention right from the very start to the heart-pounding finish.  This book was extremely hard to put down! BIRD BOX made us both feel fearful of the unknown and we could definitely feel the eerie presence of the mysterious creatures in all of the surroundings while we were totally engrossed in this novel.  We couldn’t even imagine living and carrying on everyday life blindfolded or with our eyes closed.         To sum it all up it was an extremely entertaining, unsettling, interesting, and fast-paced read that left us both a little fearful of leaving the house without a blindfold. Highly recommend!!!  Review written and posted on our themed book blog Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading.https://twosisterslostinacoulee.comCoulee: a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley.  

**Update: It's awesome to see the movie adaptation bring deserved attention to this book! I read it over a year ago and it hasn't left my mind since. Haven't seen the movie yet because I was scared they would ruin a masterpiece, but it sounds like Netflix did it justice. Here's my original review:So glad to be recommended this book! Would never have picked it up otherwise. The cover art looks like a tacky mystery, but it's actually a character-driven horror story!The fear of the unknown is ever-present and done better than perhaps I've ever read. Our most basic fears--darkness, of being watched, of monsters lurking--are amplified so well within the confines of this plot that it's hard to imagine them done any scarier. Nearly as creepy is the human component, man's own insanity under pressure. Lots of end-of-the-world books show us what insanity may befall society when all is lost, but this one does so in a more subtle way. For the most part it's optimistic, but again that impending doom is always looming over your shoulder. Great stuff all around! Check it out.

Creepy, tense, scary! (The below lines are kind of spoilerish . . . but nothing the description on Goodreads doesn't already mention)Unable to use your eyes for fear of madness . . .Unseen and unknown terrors roaming outside . . .Trapped inside with the windows covered . . .The sanity of your companions in question . . .Running out of supplies . . .Seeking salvation, but not sure where to find it or who to trust . . .Pregnant . . .This was intense and a must read for horror and thriller fans everywhere.

‘in a world where you cant open your eyes, isnt a blindfold all you could ever hope for?’ welcome to creepsville, usapopulation: this bookboy, what a trip. although i wouldnt personally consider this a horror (only because it didnt scare me), it is definitely a spooky story. i really enjoyed the unique premise, the atmospheric writing, and how much it made me think.but i thought the most compelling part of this story was actually malorie and her constant worry about her kids. sometimes it felt like her fear for her children was greater than her fear of the unknown creatures. not being a mother, i can only imagine the strength of those emotions she experienced for years. the regret and bitterness - ‘how can she expect her children to dream as big as the stars if they cant lift their heads to gaze upon them?’ the hopelessness - ‘she was saving their lives for a life not worth living.’the trust and reliance - ‘your child is smarter than you think.’i thought malories drive and motivation to survive for her children was the true highlight of the story. my only complaint about this book is its a little too short for my liking. there is quite a lot left open to be explored, many questions which could use some answers, and there is definitely enough material to write a sequel. i doubt that will happen, but a girl can wish.overall, this is a very chilling and frightfully entertaining story. guess its time to go watch the movie now!↠ 4 stars