Incidents Around the House - Josh Malerman - Book Review

 

                    'Bird Box' is one of those rare works that impressed me both as a book and as a movie. So, when I recently came across this book in the Good Reads nomination for 2024, I had to read it. Plus the horror genre got me invested as well.

                    Bela, an eight-year-old girl, is the only child of her mommy and daddy. She loves them deeply but there is somebody else in their house. Once the parents tuck her in every night, an entity called 'The Other Mommy' creeps out of the closet and spends time with her; being friends and all. She does have a strange request for the girl "Can I go inside your heart?". Bela refuses her request but at the same time, she has a feeling that things may get worse if she keeps refusing. And 'The Other Mommy' will not take no for an answer. The book revolves around Bela and her family, and how they deal with the 'The Other Mommy'.

                    The read was wavy throughout like a sine wave. Even though the language was simple and easy to read, I had issues with the pacing. The pacing is normal but there are places where it gets bland, especially towards the end. But mostly the reading was exciting enough. Bela, Mommy, Daddo, Grandmother and 'The Other Mommy' are the important and recurring characters. Except for the mother, all other characters seem nice and well-written. I am not saying Mom is not properly written but the character is rude, obnoxious, loud and irritating. The character was intended to be written that way, but she largely hinders the whole reading experience. I just wanted the parts that involved her to be over with and this affected the flow of reading. I even thought Bela would be more fine with 'The Other Mommy' than her. Speaking of 'The Other Mommy', I liked how she was characterized. There is an enigma around her and the build-up surrounding her presence was worth it. There are places where she gives the chills. I like how the author kept building up an element of doubt about whether the entity is a figment of Bela's imagination due to the discontent rising within the family or whether it is a real entity.

                    The friendship and love between Bela and her dad was written. The same goes for her and the grandmother. Throughout the book, we forget that Bela is an eight-year-old in many places. The conversations that involve her and the inner conflicts seem to be like that of a grownup. A constant reminder is needed for us that Bela is just a little girl. The climax was a huge letdown for me. It was a confusing turmoil and was dragged unnecessarily. That was a huge damper for me.

                    In short, an interesting and promising premise. If you can forgive a shoddy climax and an irritating character arc, the book gives its fair share of chills and thrills and is good for a one-time read.