Bird Box is a 2014 post-apocalyptic, dystopian horror novel by Josh Malerman. The story follows a woman’s struggle to protect two children in a world where people are driven to violence by unseen monsters, touching on such themes as paranoia, raising children to deal with an uncertain future, and the dangers of exceptionalism. Bird Box won a Michigan Notable Book Award and was also nominated for the James Herbert Award as well as the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. In 2018, Bird Box was adapted into a film starring Sandra Bullock, distributed by Netflix. Citations in this guide correspond with the 2014 Ecco (HarperCollins) edition.

Content Warning: Please note that this guide includes references to acts of violence and death by suicide.

Plot Summary

The action of Bird Box takes place along two major timelines separated by about five years. Taking place in Michigan around 2010, the earlier timeline centers on one woman’s attempt to survive a catastrophic global event, called the Problem, that decimates much of the world’s population. Around the time that she discovers she is pregnant, Malorie, a woman in her twenties, and her sister, Shannon, hear reports of deaths by murder and suicide that occur after seeing some unknown entity or creature. As the incidents spread, people take shelter in their homes, covering windows to avoid seeing the creatures by accident. A few months after taking shelter at home, Shannon accidentally sees one of the creatures and dies by suicide soon thereafter.

Following a newspaper ad, Malorie makes her way to a safe house, where the residents cautiously welcome her. To avoid seeing the creatures, they wear blindfolds whenever they go outside. Malorie soon becomes friends with Tom, a former schoolteacher who is constantly looking for ways to improve their living conditions. The other housemates include Cheryl, Jules, Felix, and Don. Two weeks later, another pregnant woman, Olympia, arrives at the house, and they let her in despite Don’s objections. Months pass, with occasional potential brushes with the creatures, though they are never sure what is outside.

After careful planning, Tom and Jules explore neighboring houses and return with supplies, dogs, and a box of birds to use as a warning system, since they coo when anyone approaches; they also discover a tent set up in the street. Two days later, a man named Gary knocks on the door, asking for shelter. They let him in, and he tells them that he left his previous residence after a man named Frank became skeptical of the creatures’ danger and pulled the window covers down.

Over the next few weeks, Don and Gary grow close and discuss Frank’s theories at length. While Tom and Jules are gone on a weeklong trip to retrieve medical and other supplies, Malorie sneaks a look at Gary’s briefcase, where she finds a notebook filled with writing about Frank’s theories. She concludes that Frank is a fabrication and Gary is the one who pulled the covers down. After Tom and Jules return from their trip, Malorie shares what she learned with the others, who vote to make Gary leave. Don, however, smuggles Gary into the basement. From then on, Don spends most of his time in the basement.

Several weeks later, Malorie and Olympia go into labor on the same day. Tom and the others set up space in the attic for them to give birth. While Malorie and Olympia are upstairs, Don pulls down the covers and opens the doors downstairs, letting a creature into the house. The housemates see it and soon all are dead. Gary emerges from the basement and tells Malorie that he lived in the tent on the street and has seen the creatures. A creature comes up to the attic and Olympia sees it, but Malorie manages to keep her eyes shut and protect the newborn children as well. Olympia jumps out a window to her death, and Gary leaves. Suddenly the phone rings, and Malorie answers. The caller, Rick, invites Malorie to make her way downriver to a haven whenever she can do so. Over the next few years, Malorie trains the children, whom she refers to simply as Boy and Girl, to listen exceptionally well and to obey her unquestioningly.

The second timeline begins a few years later when Malorie decides to follow Rick’s instructions. She leads the children to a rowboat, and they set off downstream. Before long, they pass a man who tries to get them to take off their blindfolds. Further downstream, the boat gets stuck near the shore, and a wolf injures Malorie’s arm. She falls unconscious for a time but is pleasantly surprised by how well the children cope without her. Further along, they hear something following them. Malorie assumes it is a creature when the birds around them become agitated, then attack one another. The creature nearly removes Malorie’s blindfold, but she manages to keep it in place. At the same time, Malorie and the children hear a recording of Tom’s voice, a message he once left on Rick’s answering machine. Rick told Malorie the motion-activated recording would alert Malorie to temporarily open her eyes and make sure the boat goes in the right direction where the river splits. As soon as the creature leaves, Malorie does so.

Rick and a woman named Constance welcome Malorie and the children into the settlement, which is established on the site of a former school for the blind. Feeling safe at last, Malorie reveals the children’s names: Tom and Olympia.