Bird Box (novel)

Bird Box is a 2014 post-apocalyptic novel and the debut novel by American writer and singer Josh Malerman. The book was first published in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2014, through Harper Voyager and in the United States on May 13, 2014, through Ecco Press. The book follows a woman who must find a way to guide herself and her children to safety despite the potential threat from an unseen adversary. The story is partially told via flashbacks and takes place during three time periods.

A sequel to the book, titled Malorie, was released on July 21, 2020. Bird Box was adapted into a film in 2018.

Plot
The novel is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Malorie, and takes place in the present day with alternating flashback sequences.

International news sources report a series of cases involving people suddenly flying into homicidal and suicidal madness. After becoming pregnant following a one-night stand, Malorie realizes that the phenomenon has reached the United States. The madness seems to be generated by "something", believed to be an entity, which causes people to develop sudden and violent suicidal tendencies just by looking at it. Not being able to determine exactly what the threat is, the population runs for cover by hiding in their homes and covering the windows.

Following the death of her sister Shannon, who committed suicide after accidentally looking out the window, Malorie follows a newspaper advertisement to a safe house with other survivors: Tom, Jules and his dog Victor, Felix, Don, Cheryl and Olympia, who, like Malorie, is about four months pregnant. The group barricades themselves in the house, only going out blindfolded to get water or dispose of garbage. Tom explains that the original owner of the safe house, George, had a theory that the entity could be seen indirectly without repercussions: to test the hypothesis, he recorded footage from a window and then watched it again after being tied to a chair by his companions. This tactic failed and George killed himself afterward.

Tom suggests using dogs to navigate when traveling outside the house, believing they may be immune to the creature. He and Jules search nearby houses for supplies and dogs to train, as Jules does not want to put Victor at risk. They find some birds in a box and decide to use them as an alarm, as they become agitated every time the creature approaches. On their way home, they encounter a tent bizarrely in the middle of the street in front of their house.

After months of isolation, a man named Gary asks for asylum. He claims to have left his previous refuge because Frank, a recluse obsessed with writing in journals, believed the threat was merely caused by mass hysteria, going so far as to uncover the windows and open the doors to prove it. Gary befriends Don, frequently discussing Frank's ideology. Suspicious, Malorie secretly opens Gary's briefcase and finds "Frank's" journal. She reveals this to the housemates, leading to a majority vote in favor of Gary's eviction. Don becomes increasingly withdrawn and moves to the cellar.

Over the next few months, the survivors use a phone book to call various numbers and leave messages on various answering machines, but they receive no response. Olympia and Malorie go into labor and are taken to the attic to give birth. Don is revealed to have been secretly sheltering Gary in the cellar; the latter confronts Malorie and reveals that he and Frank are the same person. Having already been mad prior to the cataclysm, he has no problem seeing the entity and has spied on the house's inhabitants long before seeking refuge. Downstairs, Don removes the window coverings, causing the other housemates to go mad and kill each other. Gary opens the attic door to allow the entity to enter; Malorie providentially covers her gaze, but Olympia sees it and goes mad. Before committing suicide, Olympia gives Malorie her newborn child.

Malorie waits for Gary and the creature to leave and finds the corpses of the other housemates, but finds Victor alive in the locked cellar. Malorie answers a phone call from a survivor named Rick, who received the housemates' message and invites her to a safe haven, leaving her with detailed instructions. Malorie, burdened by grief over her companions' deaths and by the necessity of caring for two newborn children, declines his offer, but Rick reassures her that he will call her weekly and will always welcome her.

Malorie raises the children using harsh training techniques in order to ensure their survival, heightening their senses and teaching them to automatically keep their eyes closed. The children are only referred to as "Girl" and "Boy", as she feels that names are an unnecessary luxury. During an exploration for supplies, Malorie discovers that animals are not immune to the entity, as Victor goes berserk.

When the children are four years old, Malorie decides to journey to Rick's haven. She chooses a particularly foggy day in the hope of hiding their escape in case Gary is still spying on them. The three travel along a river, at one point ignoring a madman who tries to convince them to remove their blindfolds and behold the creature. They are later beset by a pack of wolves, one of which injures Malorie. The entity appears and nearly removes Malorie's blindfold, but then leaves the group. Malorie, needing to determine the right path, musters the courage to briefly remove her blindfold. Eventually they make it to the refuge, which she discovers was originally a school for the blind. They are met by the blind Rick, a sighted Constance, and dozens of other people who have blinded themselves to remain unaffected. Now certain in their safety, Malorie finally allows herself to name the children "Tom" and "Olympia" and tells them to remove their blindfolds.

Reception
Critical reception for Bird Box has been positive and Malerman has received comparisons to Stephen King and Jonathan Carroll. Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club gave the book a B rating, writing "Malerman overreaches a bit in his debut, which could use as much attention to the cast as to the mood, but the mood is chillingly effective. Reading it feels like accepting a dare to walk into a strange place, eyes closed, with no idea who, or what, might be reaching out to make contact."

Malerman wrote the rough draft of Bird Box prior to the release of the 2008 M. Night Shyamalan film The Happening and the 2009 film The Road (although the novel The Road was written in 2006), which caused him to worry that the book "might get lost in the shuffle." 

Awards and nominations

 * Michigan Notable Book Award (2015, won)
 * James Herbert Award (2015, nominated)
 * Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel (2015, nominated)

Film adaptation
Film rights to Bird Box were optioned by Universal Studios in 2013, prior to the book's release. Scott Stuber and Chris Morgan were initially set to produce the film, with Andy Muschietti (It, Mama) as director and Eric Heisserer in negotiations to pen the script. Netflix then acquired the rights of the book with Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich in starring roles, Morgan co-producing, Heisserer writing, and Susanne Bier as the director. A spin-off sequel, Bird Box Barcelona, was released on Netflix on July 14, 2023.