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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This might be my favorite book of the year. A really sharp, witty take on so many relevant topics: corporate culture, mediocre men, grief. It is surprising and interesting, a book I couldn't wait to keep reading but also didn't want to finish because it was so good. We've all been an Ava (or a Jamie) and we all know a Mat. I am going to over-recommend and gift it so that I can talk about it and how clever and interesting it is. A+.
Ava builds her life in half-hour increments around work, her dog, and her routines. She's good at her engineering job and she has one friend. Everything else - her family, her fiancee - was ripped away years ago in a terrible accident.
Then Mat, a marketing whiz abounding in charisma and entitlement, is assigned to manage Ava's engineering team. She is at first suspicious of his jargon and confidence. But Mat is also generous and kind, and Ava finds herself accepting and eventually enjoying his company. Maybe she is even happy, but her one friend insists that their initial suspicions were correct and Mat's charisma and marketing-speak is a cover for something more sinister.
This book was interesting and unforgettable from the beginning. The beautifully-written, wry prose brings us instantly into Ava's mind and world, peopled with characters that are both unique and instantly familiar. As artfully constructed as Ava's bestselling storage systems, it's a literary thriller that examines loss and recovery, sexuality and gender, and all the ways we box ourselves in.
Then Mat, a marketing whiz abounding in charisma and entitlement, is assigned to manage Ava's engineering team. She is at first suspicious of his jargon and confidence. But Mat is also generous and kind, and Ava finds herself accepting and eventually enjoying his company. Maybe she is even happy, but her one friend insists that their initial suspicions were correct and Mat's charisma and marketing-speak is a cover for something more sinister.
This book was interesting and unforgettable from the beginning. The beautifully-written, wry prose brings us instantly into Ava's mind and world, peopled with characters that are both unique and instantly familiar. As artfully constructed as Ava's bestselling storage systems, it's a literary thriller that examines loss and recovery, sexuality and gender, and all the ways we box ourselves in.
this could’ve been a 3 but the ending is so *delicious*
A Very Nice Box is about a bi woman, Ava, who is dealing with OCD and PTSD from a car crash. She’s an engineer at a corporation that’s like a blend of IKEA and Apple. Her life is very routine oriented and she obsesses about her dog. She ends up in a relationship with her “cool boss,” Mat, who joins the company at the novel’s beginning, and implements a bunch of corporate conformity, positivity and self-care rules.
I didn’t really find the novel’s business examination all that engaging because most of these issues seem so commonplace. The relationship dynamics with Mat and her co-workers and especially how Ava handles them were great.
Beyond the big themes, there are some good themes developed such as how corporate driven initiatives that purport to create happier workplaces are often silly or tone deaf to the impacted people. It also explores grief, intimacy issues, and queer identity with Ava while contrasting it with Mat’s efforts to deconstruct his privilege and insecurities through a goofy self-help program. Their relationship is based on uneven power dynamics. The Mat character speaks in bro platitudes so he seems like a stock character—probably intentional so in a way that steps away from the male gaze. Mat is a a masked performance artist, but his self-gratifying personality is so profoundly relatable to anyone watching toxic male behavior.
Toward the end, the book does two things exceptionally well. It addresses male insecurity with careers and bisexuality, while showing a pattern of Ava as the caretaker for Mat. Better, it creates scenes that explore professional bro-culture and gas lighting in the best way I’ve seen in a novel.
All the names in the books are slight parodies of present day companies and have utilitarian names kind of like Dickensian characters except they’re products. A new product is introduced just about every page, which draws attention to Ava’s neurodivergence and mimics every day life. Some examples are a car hailing company called Swyft, mens mail order razors branded Grizzly, or A Very Nice Watch. At one point Ava pays $299 for a dog sitting service for a night through an app. She uses a company mandated therapy service called SHRNK.
A lot of stuff like Meyers-Briggs tests, lame diversity initiatives that are not grounded or helpful, and corporate expansion versus NIMBY are critiqued. Occasionally the blandness of the products are contrasted with things like handcrafted Steinway pianos which act as a motif of Ava’s identity and personality layers.
The effect of all this is a novel that felt like a jaded time capsule of US society for white collar workers. Part of my frustration with the book is its critiques of corporate America are accurate but not really that interesting because they seem kind of self evident to most people who would read the book.
Reading about all the products kind of felt like seeing targeted online ads. Strangely social media doesn’t appear in the novel unless Slack counts.
The authors should probably trademark some of the product names they created before someone in Silicon Valley or Austin reads this book.
I didn’t really find the novel’s business examination all that engaging because most of these issues seem so commonplace. The relationship dynamics with Mat and her co-workers and especially how Ava handles them were great.
Beyond the big themes, there are some good themes developed such as how corporate driven initiatives that purport to create happier workplaces are often silly or tone deaf to the impacted people. It also explores grief, intimacy issues, and queer identity with Ava while contrasting it with Mat’s efforts to deconstruct his privilege and insecurities through a goofy self-help program. Their relationship is based on uneven power dynamics. The Mat character speaks in bro platitudes so he seems like a stock character—probably intentional so in a way that steps away from the male gaze. Mat is a a masked performance artist, but his self-gratifying personality is so profoundly relatable to anyone watching toxic male behavior.
Toward the end, the book does two things exceptionally well. It addresses male insecurity with careers and bisexuality, while showing a pattern of Ava as the caretaker for Mat. Better, it creates scenes that explore professional bro-culture and gas lighting in the best way I’ve seen in a novel.
All the names in the books are slight parodies of present day companies and have utilitarian names kind of like Dickensian characters except they’re products. A new product is introduced just about every page, which draws attention to Ava’s neurodivergence and mimics every day life. Some examples are a car hailing company called Swyft, mens mail order razors branded Grizzly, or A Very Nice Watch. At one point Ava pays $299 for a dog sitting service for a night through an app. She uses a company mandated therapy service called SHRNK.
A lot of stuff like Meyers-Briggs tests, lame diversity initiatives that are not grounded or helpful, and corporate expansion versus NIMBY are critiqued. Occasionally the blandness of the products are contrasted with things like handcrafted Steinway pianos which act as a motif of Ava’s identity and personality layers.
The effect of all this is a novel that felt like a jaded time capsule of US society for white collar workers. Part of my frustration with the book is its critiques of corporate America are accurate but not really that interesting because they seem kind of self evident to most people who would read the book.
Reading about all the products kind of felt like seeing targeted online ads. Strangely social media doesn’t appear in the novel unless Slack counts.
The authors should probably trademark some of the product names they created before someone in Silicon Valley or Austin reads this book.
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book from cover to cover. A dark way to explore grief, healing, making amends, etc. Ava is easy to root for. There’s something to be said here about the exploration of toxic masculinity and its intersection with personal responsibility and the idea of a “good guy”. The sardonic bites at corporate life were lovely sprinkles on top.
Väga mõnus easy fiction vahelduseks, huvitavalt oli raamatuk kaks autorit ja oli tunda ikkagi väga concious feminist backgroundi aga see õnneks ei domineerinud liialt põnevuse ja story üle, aitäh Sägale sõbrapäevakingi eest :))
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a slow moving plot. Happy that she adopted Emily at the end.
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes