Don't Fear the Creature

Scary, Violent, and Emotionally Intense

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Genre: Horror

Book information: Paperback, 260 pages, published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, Copyright 2014, Printed 2015.

• ISBN 13: 9780062259660

Setting: George’s house in Detroit, Michigan and a river not far from it.

Summary: Four long years in the same house, in a world where it is no longer safe to look outside because of what you might see. There is something out there. Something that makes people violent and suicidal. No one knows what it looks like, because if they look at it, they too become violent. After four years, with little food and supplies left, Malorie finally decides that it is time to leave the house, for good. Blindfolded, as to not see what thing is out there, Malorie and her two children embark on the most dangerous journey their lives. Can they survive their journey if they can’t see where they’re going?

Elements of Horror

Pace: Intensifying. The story jumps back and forth over a four-year span, creating an irregular timeline. Even then the story keeps building on Malorie’s emotions, making the story more intense as it develops.

Frame: No one knows what is outside. No one knows what it is that makes people deathly crazy. Some refer to it as a thing or a monster, but most refer to it as a creature. When it is near, people describe it as a large, looming presence. Even though you can’t see it, you can hear it. You can feel it.

Storyline: As in many horror novels, the ending ties up one end, but still leaves many unraveled, leaving you on the edge of your seat. The biggest one left is what is the mysterious creature out there? What does it want? Why is it here? Has it gone away? Will it go away? No one knows.

Characterization: Malorie is the broken, but strong female lead in the novel. She is the protagonist, courageously battling the outside world for a better life for her and her children. However, there is something more haunting out there than the creatures. It’s Gary. What is more frightening? A creature you can’t see, or someone you can.

Tone: The constant foreboding fear is contagious. It almost makes you want to cover your windows so you can’t see the outside either. Something is out there.

  

Style: The writing in Malerman’s book is emotionally descriptive, making a few seconds last minutes. Some parts of the book are graphically violent and disturbing, others are subtle, but violence is still involved. Not for the faint of heart.

Appeal: Birdbox has all the elements of horror a person could ask for. There are monsters, violence, and emotionally gripping situations that you can’t pry yourself away from. It is also appealing that there was a film modeled off the book. Therefore, giving it another way to live through people. It is a quick paced enthralling read that will have you hiding in the basement, away from windows by the time you reach the end.

3 Read-a-likes

1.) Blindness by Jose Saramago

2.) I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

3.) The Enemy by Charles Higson (Series)

NOT PART OF ANNOTATION!

Personal Thoughts:

Alright, I’ll say it, even thought I feel wrong for saying it but, the Netflix movie was better than the book. There, I said it. Although, I feel its slightly unjustified because the book and the movie are vastly different from each other. The basic storyline is the same, its all the details that are wrong. In the movie, there are characters and situations that take place that didn’t happen in the book, at all. Most of the back stories of the characters are changed and most of the timeline is off.  It’s hard to say which one is more graphic than the other. They are both pretty graphic, but in different ways. The graphic scenes in the book are not the same graphic scenes in the movie. Horror movies have the advantage of music and visual effects that you don’t get with the book. Its more imaginative, therefore the book is only as bad as you imagine it out to be. I did like both versions of the story, both have their merits.

*SPOILERS ALERT* I think the reason why I liked the movie better than the book is because the movie played up the “bird box” part of it. In the movie, they are constantly using birds as an alarm system for when the creatures are near. At times, they carry the birds with them when they go outside. The birds can sense their presence and will start to freak out if a creature is nearby. They use birds in the book in a similar manner, but not nearly to the extent the film did. In the book, the birds were outside in a box by the front door. That way if someone, or something, came near the door, they would have a sense of what it was based on how the birds reacted. They used this same knowledge when they were out on their journey, but they did not have birds with/on them. They just used the ones that were already outside in the trees. I just think the film did more justice to the title of the book that way, even though the title is such a small thing, but it has a big meaning. Ultimately, I just think I’m more of a horror movie person than a horror book person. However, Bird Box did spark my interest to read more horror books.