BoxWalla is a subscription box company dedicated to sharing uncommon food, books, films, and green beauty items, and they curate bi-monthly boxes for each of those categories. Subscribe to one or more, and add or switch interests at any time.
BoxWalla is run by a couple of self-declared "aesthetes" with a keen eye for meaningful details. Even the package is a sustainable, handmade box made from paper!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Boxwalla Book subscription, which is $29.95 every other month.
About the Boxwalla Book Subscription Box
The Subscription Box: BoxWalla Book
The Cost: $29.95 every other month + free US shipping
The Products: Thoughtfully curated literature by prospective Nobel laureates from around the world.
Ships to: US (for free) and international locations
Boxwalla Book Subscription Box August 2018 Review
Here's a note from the box's curators. I love the context they provide for their selections. This month's theme is "Last night I dreamed that somebody loved me". Super unique. I can't wait to see how that plays out!
T. Singer by Dag Solstad - Retail Value $15.95 (Found here for $10.97)
This book had a delightfully weird, wry, introspective nature about it. I felt like I knew the main character—broody, introspective, a little bit like a Nordic Charlie Brown. The story unfolds as a consistent flow of details that washed over my mind like lapping waves. Moments on top of moments on top of moments with very little lull in between. Despite all of the (sometimes very juicy) information being shared, the pacing makes everything feel kind of monotone. Big moments (the beginning of a romance, the tragedy of death, important turning points) that other authors might give their own chapter, blend in with descriptions of mundane, anecdotal memories and observations. The pacing emphasizes the darker tones of the book. There's a blend of apathy and helplessness in the way the story is told, which heightens the empathy I felt for the main character's struggles.
Book Summary on Amazon:
“Solstad doesn’t write to please other people. Do exactly what you want, that’s my idea...the drama exists in his voice” (Lydia Davis)
T Singer begins with thirty-four-year-old Singer graduating from library school and traveling by train from Oslo to the small town of Notodden, located in the mountainous Telemark region of Norway. There he plans to begin a deliberately anonymous life as a librarian. But Singer unexpectedly falls in love with the ceramicist Merete Saethre, who has a young daughter from a previous relationship. After a few years together, the couple is on the verge of separating, when a car accident prompts a dramatic change in Singer’s life.
The narrator of the novel specifically states that this is not a happy story, yet, as in all of Dag Solstad’s works, the prose is marked by an unforgettable combination of humor and darkness. Overall, T Singermarks a departure more explicitly existential than any of Solstad’s previous works.
Ali and Nino by Kurban Said - Retail Value $15.95 (Found here for $10.84)
The next book in the box struck me as kind of a Romeo and Juliet story—two characters fall in love but are ripped apart due to cultural drama beyond their control. It was interesting seeing this somewhat familiar storyline play out in a geographic and socio-political setting that I'm largely unfamiliar with. Packed with romance, tragedy, heartache, and struggle, it almost feels like a fairytale, despite the relative newness of its WWI timeframe.
Book Summary on Amazon:
Now a major motion picture, the worldwide bestseller and epic novel of enduring romance in a time of war.
The sweeping tale of love challenged by war, as romantic and gripping as Gone with the Wind or Dr. Zhivago, Ali& Nino portrays, against a glamorously exotic backdrop,the enduring love between childhood friends divided by separate cultures.
Ali and Nino grow up together in carefree innocence in Baku, on the Caspian Sea. Here, where East and West collide, they are inevitably drawn into the events of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Torn apart by the turmoil of the divided society around them, Ali joins the defense of Azerbaijan from the onslaught of the Red Army and Nino flees to the safety of Paris with their child, unsure whether they will ever see each other again. This is an unforgettable story of blood feud, adventure, and personal heroism―and a love that endures the upheaval of cultures.
The Verdict: I love the way Boxwalla keeps me entertained with a steady stream of intriguing reading material while also expanding my worldview with authors and stories sharing perspectives that feel new to me. I especially liked the first book in this box, but both are quick, engaging reads that draw my imagination and empathy toward different cultures and worlds.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No. Sign up here to get the next box!
Value Breakdown: The items for which I could find retail values totaled $31.90. This box costs $29.95 + free shipping, which means that each of the 2 items in the box cost $14.98 via the subscription.
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