Sunday, December 6, 2015

Bird Box, a Novel / Josh Malerman / 262 pages / Scary October-November Challenge

"It's better to face madness with a plan than to sit still and let it pick you to pieces."  Mallory follows Tom's advice and risks unknown territory, blind-folded, in a rowboat with two four year olds to reach survivors in a world gone mad.  Something terrifying has manifest on the earth, so terrifying that to look at it causes violence, madness, murder, and suicide.  Mallory has just discovered she is pregnant when the first incidents are reported on the news.  When her mother and sister are felled by the violence, Mallory sets off alone, blind-folded, to avoid glimpsing the creatures.  She is accepted into the home of a small group of survivors, whose owner, George, was attempting to understand and combat the infestation.  The survivors struggle against the odds, human nature, and deception.  Mallory is left alone with two newborns.
This is a frightening testimony to the indomitable courage and fortitude of one truly heroic woman.  Alternating between past and present, the narrative forces the reader to the edge of his/her seat with renewed appreciation for a more sane, sighted world.

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