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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Zwischenstand bei 50%: Ich habe wegen des guten Titels damit angefangen und weiß nach der Hälfte immer noch nicht, wo das alles hinführen soll. Meine bisherige Erfahrung mit Romanen (genauer: den Anfängen von Romanen), die in hipsterhaften Unternehmen spielen, sagt, dass sich bald alles als grausame Dystopie entpuppen wird. Aber bisher ist davon eigentlich noch nichts zu sehen, es ist halt eine relativ normale Arbeitsumgebung, vielleicht 10% übertrieben, vielleicht auch nicht. Es könnte am Ende auch einfach ein "I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me"-Liebesroman sein (hoffentlich nicht). Oder irgendwas ganz anderes mit Aliens oder Zombies. Noch ist alles offen.
Lieblingssatz: "For a terrible moment she allowed herself to contemplate the slideshow transition effects he would try to use."
Update: Das war in der zweiten Hälfte leider doch viel weniger interessant, als ich dachte. Alle langweilig-vorhersehbaren Entwicklungen, über deren Abwesenheit ich mich in der ersten gefreut habe, sind eingetreten, es hat nur länger gedauert. Schade.
Lieblingssatz: "For a terrible moment she allowed herself to contemplate the slideshow transition effects he would try to use."
Update: Das war in der zweiten Hälfte leider doch viel weniger interessant, als ich dachte. Alle langweilig-vorhersehbaren Entwicklungen, über deren Abwesenheit ich mich in der ersten gefreut habe, sind eingetreten, es hat nur länger gedauert. Schade.
This was really close to a 5 stars for me, but the end… idk. It was really well done, but took my enjoyment down a bit. I loved Ava, and really enjoyed being in her head for a bit. Didn’t want to put this book down.
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I will say I think this book works best if you go in without a ton of information, so if you’re up for a kind of weird slowly unfolding character-based queer story, I highly recommend checking this out sight unseen. I listened to it as an audiobook and thought it worked really well in that format!
I loved reading about Ava, who is such a distinct character. I can understand people who don’t appreciate her point of view — for instance, she identifies everything around her by brand, and she really is passionate about the Very Nice Box she’s designing. But I appreciated getting to know her, including the walls she’s built up and her vulnerabilities. She dislikes Mat at first, but once she’s fallen for him, she’s defensive against anyone who doesn’t.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but suffice to say, this ended up being a great commentary about Nice Guys and male entitlement. It also wraps up in a way I hadn’t expected but was very satisfying.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
I loved reading about Ava, who is such a distinct character. I can understand people who don’t appreciate her point of view — for instance, she identifies everything around her by brand, and she really is passionate about the Very Nice Box she’s designing. But I appreciated getting to know her, including the walls she’s built up and her vulnerabilities. She dislikes Mat at first, but once she’s fallen for him, she’s defensive against anyone who doesn’t.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but suffice to say, this ended up being a great commentary about Nice Guys and male entitlement. It also wraps up in a way I hadn’t expected but was very satisfying.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
Clever concept; convincingly executed. Cishet White Men armed only with optimistic entitlement are the most dangerous game, indeed. That is what we're meant to take from this present-day allegory.
In less capable hands than Laura Blackett's and Eve Gleichman's, it might have been a little too. . . overtly, meanly preachy. But one would be hard-pressed to read the authors' precise prose and convincing character portraits and deny that she/he/they recognize the behaviors and the psychological profile of the antagonist, who you routinely see in the comments section of any social media platform and the seamy, disingenuous spirit of corporate agendas--the same optimistic entitlement in macro we so often see in the micro via "nice guys" who have no concept of accountability or "goodness."
In less capable hands than Laura Blackett's and Eve Gleichman's, it might have been a little too. . . overtly, meanly preachy. But one would be hard-pressed to read the authors' precise prose and convincing character portraits and deny that she/he/they recognize the behaviors and the psychological profile of the antagonist, who you routinely see in the comments section of any social media platform and the seamy, disingenuous spirit of corporate agendas--the same optimistic entitlement in macro we so often see in the micro via "nice guys" who have no concept of accountability or "goodness."
This is a mostly smart, funny, well written debut novel about an introvert design engineer (Ava) who is the storage box expert for an IKEA-like company in Red Hook and is wooed into a relationship with a charming but kind of jerky, extrovert marketing type (Mat) who becomes her boss. At the same time, Ava is struggling with grief in the aftermath of a tragedy that killed her girlfriend. Fascinating characters like Jaime, Ava's engineer co-worker; the dogs Emily and Brutus; The Vandals, an activist group protesting the erection of the company's new tower; and Judith, the buttoned up Chief People Officer make this an entertaining and quick read. Blackett also explores sexual identity and mens' and women's roles in the workplace effectively and with humor.
The book was great until about the last 3 chapters when a contrived ending totally inconsistent with the rest of the book, and particularly with Ava's character, disappointed me. I think the author needed to start integrating the transition to the ending much earlier than she did. But given all the the positives here I think Blackett will only get better.
The book was great until about the last 3 chapters when a contrived ending totally inconsistent with the rest of the book, and particularly with Ava's character, disappointed me. I think the author needed to start integrating the transition to the ending much earlier than she did. But given all the the positives here I think Blackett will only get better.
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I genuinely enjoyed reading the A Very Nice Box. The writing is clever and made me laugh out loud several times - the description of modern corporate wellness initiatives is scathing, accurate, and hilarious. There is a twist at the end, and without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that it brought everything together in a much more satisfying way than I anticipated.
Ava Simon is a Black, queer woman who works as an engineer at a company reminiscent of IKEA. She ends up falling for her new boss (a white straight man) which is admittedly surprising to her as most of her relationships have been with women. Ava grapples with her sexuality while grieving the loss of her fiancée that passed away in a tragic accident, years ago. I loved how (capital G) Gay this book was really sweet, moving depictions of queer friendship.
Ava Simon is a Black, queer woman who works as an engineer at a company reminiscent of IKEA. She ends up falling for her new boss (a white straight man) which is admittedly surprising to her as most of her relationships have been with women. Ava grapples with her sexuality while grieving the loss of her fiancée that passed away in a tragic accident, years ago. I loved how (capital G) Gay this book was really sweet, moving depictions of queer friendship.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
this was so good. it had you waiting for the other shoe to drop yet interested in what was happening in ava’s life that it wasn’t like dragging yourself to finish. the twist (even though you can guess what it is before you hit it) was still so good because of the way it unfolded. loved the part the very nice box played in it. i really liked all the characters because they were so well written. rights for my girl helen she just wants furniture for cats.
