Review: “A Very Nice Box”

Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman pull off a neat trick with “A Very Nice Box”.

They manage to write an entire debut novel hitting every rom-com beat necessary and then flip it by turning the love interest into the villain who they literally, figuratively and metaphorically trap in a box of their own making. Think of it as a very nice coffin.

Along the way, they manage to skewer marketing in every way, shape or form, toxic work culture, work romance, photocopier sex, mental health apps, staying hydrated, gaynormative fashion tropes, parental grief, over-designed office chairs, ethical collisions, men’s self-help groups.

Then there’s all the functional minimalist furniture with plastic product names.

Off-kilter and oddly satisfying.