The Very Nice Box: A Novel

By Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett

“Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman are linguistic magicians, and their sparkling debut manages to expose the hollowness of well-being jargon while exploring, with tender care and precision, how we dare to move on after unspeakable loss . . . [They have] constructed a mirrored fun house, one that leads us down different paths, each masterfully tied up at the end, yet reflecting and refracting our own quirky selves.”
—New York Times Book Review, An Editors' Choice

“A very funny debut — and perhaps the most original office satire of the year.”
—Washington Post

For fans of Elinor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Severance: an offbeat, wryly funny debut novel that follows an eccentric product engineer who works for a hip furniture company where sweeping corporate change lands her under the purview of a startlingly charismatic boss who seems determined to get close to her at all costs . . .

Ava Simon designs storage boxes for STÄDA, a slick Brooklyn-based furniture company. She’s hard-working, obsessive, and heartbroken from a tragedy that killed her girlfriend and upended her life. It’s been years since she’s let anyone in.

But when Ava’s new boss—the young and magnetic Mat Putnam—offers Ava a ride home one afternoon, an unlikely relationship blossoms. Ava remembers how rewarding it can be to open up—and, despite her instincts, she becomes enamored. But Mat isn’t who he claims to be, and the romance takes a sharp turn.

The Very Nice Box is a funny, suspenseful debut—with a shocking twist. It’s at once a send-up of male entitlement and a big-hearted account of grief, friendship, and trust.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780358540229

Eve Gleichman

EVE GLEICHMAN’s short stories have appeared in the Kenyon Review, the Harvard Review,Bomb Daily, and elsewhere. Eve is a graduate of Brooklyn College’s Fiction MFA Program and lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews for The Very Nice Box

[viviennestrauss · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A really fun read but it felt like it slipped into an entirely different genre at the end... Also makes me very glad I am no longer a part of the corporate world.

[froxgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This dual-author (how do they DO it?) story set in Brooklyn and at STADA, an Ikea-like company, is a glorious mashup of work comedy, romance, and satire, with a smidge of suspense, and it's genius, like The Rosie Project + Then We Came To The End. The narrator, Ava, has survived a major trauma and terrible losses by regimenting her routine and by clinging to her lead designer job for her un-dear life. STADA's founder, a woodworker by trade, is retiring and leaving the company in the hands of Mat, a Wharton double major and a most obnoxious young dudebro. For some reason, though, the charming and handsome new boss seeks Ava out and they fall in love. But when their relationship is discovered, Mat is transferred to the Midwest and Ava's dear friend Jaime pressures her to forget him and start dating again. As the heartbreaking tragedy that shapes Ava's life is revealed, we see how her devotion to creating the company's new hot seller, the aptly-named Very Nice Box (joining other J. Peterman/Ikea-like products as the Peaceful Headphones, the Husky Camping Chair, and the Cozy Nesting Tables) and her rigid routine is preventing her from regaining even a vestige of happiness. Ava shares her angst with and asks advice from the company's online chat therapist, SHRNK, who seems to know and understand her to a remarkable degree. When Mat's substantial flaws are revealed, Ava has to choose between his love and his quirks, such as his devotion to a cult-like men's personal growth group. Every character at STADA is cunningly described, as is the Brooklyn neighborhood where an Antifa-like group called The Vandals is attempting to prevent the construction of a new blindingly tall tower to make the ruinous gentrification cycle complete. This debut novel is a completely joyous and compelling literary event.Quote: “She had the warmth of disinfectant spray.”

[alliepascal-876024 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ava is an engineer who specializes in designing storage products for STÄDA, which is parallel universe IKEA. They sell mostly furniture with satirically agreeable names like "Dependable Drying Rack" and "Appealing Dining Table." The title of this book is also Ava's current project, and on the anniversary of her 10th year working for STÄDA, her boss steps down and she draws the attention of the young man hired in his place...I was convinced that I knew where this book was going for the first half, then was persuaded completely that no, I was wrong... only to be proven right in the end. But I was so thoroughly thrown off by what I perceived as the plot subverting my expectations that when the story...unsubverted itself, I was kind of relieved, but not all that surprised or excited. I don't know if I would call the book predictable, but there were some red flags that I should've known wouldn't just be ignored, especially considering the book description..What else...? For the most part the writing was straightforward and without fluff. I didn't find much particularly funny, but I thought the same about Elinor Oliphant, so it may just be my sense of humor. I thought it was incredibly effective at portraying grief, though. I even got a bit emotional during the flashbacks of Ava in the hospital. Also, the fact that Ava compartmentalizes that grief for years worked thematically well with her profession and I do love that kind of thing.There was some corporate satire but not enough, in my opinion, and I think more could have been done with the box motif as well. There was also one particular plot convenience near the end that irritated me... I did like it, overall, though.*I read this via NetGalley

[simmmba · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"The Very Nice Box" tells the story of Ava, a woman dealing with significant grief who works as an engineer at an IKEA-like company (STADA). First off, Ava's character is incredibly well-drawn and detailed. The reader will gradually get to know her as the story progresses...everything from her back story to her current life to her various quirks and character traits. She feels very much like a real person, and becomes more and more endearing as the story unfolds.The actual story is also excellent. Ava's world is populated primarily by co-workers and her beloved dog Brutus. With the introduction of a new boss, the authors successfully wreck havoc with Ava's carefully structured life. In addition to personal drama, STADA itself is having issues, as a group of protestors is trying to halt progress on a new building. I felt like I was "with" Ava every step of the way as her relationships change and she works through past issues and deals with present changes. All along, I was invested in her happiness, and found I really cared about what happened to her.The jacket cover promises a surprise, so I was trying to figure out what it was as I was reading. I was right about part of it, but I didn't see other parts of it coming. I highly recommend this book....for the great character portrait, for the action, and for the fun of trying to figure out the twist.Five out of five scrumptious chunks of pepper jack!

[mzonderm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ava Simon is not, as the jacket copy would have you believe, another Eleanor Oliphant. She's grieving, having lost her fiancée in a car accident several years ago, and has shut herself off from nearly all social interactions. Her life is quiet, steady, and calm, consisting of engineering work that she loves at STÄDA (an Ikea look-alike), Monday lunches with a colleague, podcasts, and her dog. But when Mat Putman blows into her office like a charismatic hurricane, this self-contained existence is quite upended.The novel follows Ava as she somewhat grudingly re-enters the world, learns that it is possible to love again, and navigates the truly asinine corporate culture at STÄDA. The office culture is almost a character in itself; think Eggers's The Circle, without the menancing undertones. The tone here is much more lighthearted, although it's clear that Mat Putnam is not what he seems. He's too goofy to seem truly threatening though, unless you count his misguided sense of self-worth to be a threat (and by the end, I'm not so sure that you'd be wrong to do so). Ava and Mat's personal drama, and the scandal-in-the-making that's been building up at STÄDA all come together for a satisfying, if slighly ridiculous resolution.