The world of Bird Box by Josh Malerman is populated by creatures. People who see these
creatures become murderous and suicidal. Anyone who is to survive must avoid
seeing the creatures…at all costs. Malorie learns of these, initially isolated,
incidents of murder and suicide, at the same time she learns she is pregnant. Living
in this post-apocalyptic world of literal blind terror, she needed all the
strength and perseverance she could muster to save her children.
Malorie’s story is told in two alternating
timelines. The first is her arrival at a house occupied by four men and two
women (one also pregnant). The windows are covered, and no one goes outside
without a blindfold. They are isolated and scared. The other thread is four
years later, with Malorie, Boy, and Girl rowing down the river. They are also
isolated and scared.
The people in the house all struggle
to live together. They support each other, share the tasks, and vote. No matter
how hard they try, the stress wears on them, as they strive to survive, and
find a way to make progress. How important is progress to sanity?
The first timeline intermixes the fantastic
anxieties of the survival in this world of blindness and isolation with the quotidian
anxieties of pregnancy. The former seems to be a malevolent force, while the
latter seems to be a source of strength.
Given that Malorie was the
protagonist, and the importance of pregnancy and motherhood, I was surprised to
discover this was a male author.
On one level this book is an adventure
like Robinson Crusoe. How can anyone survive in this alien world? The problems
of food, laundry, water, sanitation, defense, are all presented and solved. This
is a story of survivors and survivalists.
On another level, it is about children.
Raising them, loving them, being saved by them.
I never understood the title.
In the house timeline, Tom finds a bird
box that they hang outside as an alarm system.
In the river timeline: “It feels like
a cage was lowered over them all. A cardboard box. A bird box, blocking out the
sun forever.”
This is an uplifting story of the power
of the human spirit and mother’s love. If you like an emotional rollercoaster with
a happy ending, you’ll love this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment