Even if you’re not familiar with the name Josh Malerman, the chances are you’re familiar with his work without even realising it. Malerman was the author of the 2014 novel Bird Box, which became, arguably, better known for its 2018 movie adaptation starring Sandra Bullock. And even if you’re not familiar with the book or the movie, you still might remember the viral Bird Box challenge, which came about as a result of the film. As part of the challenge, people would film themselves doing everyday activities while blindfolded. This is all fun and games until it apparently led to people doing things such as driving while blindfolded. Knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.
At the time of writing this review, Incidents Around the House is the latest offering from Malerman. It is told from the perspective of Bela. On the surface, she’s a regular eight-year-old girl who lives with her parents and enjoys playing games and dancing. And like most little girls her age, Bela has an imaginary friend. An imaginary friend whom she calls Other Mommy. But things take a turn when other people start noticing Other Mommy, and it turns out she might not be so harmless. It would seem that Other Mommy might not be imaginary after all.
At this point, it’s also worth noting that this book has an unusual format. Malerman explains in a brief foreword that all action is aligned completely to the left, while all dialogue is indented. There is no punctuation in the form of speech marks or anything like that. There is a very deliberate purpose behind this format, that being that it is Bela telling the story. And, with respect, Bela probably wouldn’t know how to format a novel at the age of eight. Because we’re used to how novels are traditionally formatted, reading this book can be a little jarring at first. But with time and patience, I found myself getting used to it along with getting into the story.
Because this book is told from a child’s POV, there are some things that Bela says that she doesn’t understand, but a mature reader is likely to fill in their blanks and come to their own conclusions. For example, Bela doesn’t know why her mother comes home from somewhere smelling like a man’s aftershave. Especially when it’s not the aftershave her father wears.
This isn’t your typical haunted house story. This is a story about haunted people. This is a tale of family, secrets, and the loss of innocence. If you love Blumhouse type of horror, then this will definitely be a book for you.
My Goodreads rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)
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