The Best Book Box for World Literature: Boxwalla

Boxwalla is a subscription service I have looked up to even before I had the pleasure of opening one of their boxes. I had mentioned it as a favourite international box here where I talked about book boxes based in India. I remember my first time peering into the contents and being delighted at the books inside. I’ve been experiencing the same joy even now after many boxes because they outdo themselves to surprise a reader every single time.
Founded by Lavanya and Sandeep, the Boxwalla aims at introducing readers to world literature. The bookish service, based in US, ships every two months and includes two books. Sometimes there is a book inspired gift included (There is one in the October box. Yeey!) as well. Apart from the Book box, they have Beauty, Food and Film; the best part being that you can even shift your box category if you wish to. Every book box comes with a note that gives you a summary of the book or writer to introduce you to the work.

Books

I have been reading books from Boxwalla since Octorber, 2018. It has been almost a year and I am so pleased to have such a stunning collection of books. Here is a chronological list of the books (not including the bookish gifts that were part of the boxes):

1.Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali (translated from the  Turkish)

Set in Berlin in the 1920s, the novel follows a man who is in awe of a woman in a painting and later falls in love with the woman herself.

2.The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini (translated from the Italian)

The life story of a deaf mute girl in a historical novel.

3.Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang (translated from the Chinese)

A portrayal of family duty, betrayal and patriarchy in Shanghai of 1930s.

4.Seven Sixes are are Forty Three by Kiran Nagarkar (translated from the Marathi)

Fragments of a man’s life narrated in a non linear fashion

5.The Legends of Khasak by O. V. Vijayan (translated from the Malayalam)

A magical realism read set in a rustic, village in Kerala

6.Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Espenbeck (translated from the German)

A novel about race, nationality and privilege

7.French Love poems

8.Her Mother’s Mother’s Mother and her Daughters by Maria Jose Silveria (translated from the Portuguese)

A family saga told by women in the backdrop of 500 years of the Brazilian history.

9.The Beekeeper by Dunya Mikhail (translated from the Arabic)

A real life account of the situation of Yazidis terrorized by Daeesh (ISIS)

10.Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (set in Zimbabwe)

An autobiographical  novel about the impact of colonialism and the need for education.

11.Barley Patch by Gerald Murane

A sketch of images beginning with the question ‘Must I write?’

12.Ali and Nino by Kurban Said (translated from the German)

This classic set in Azerbaijan is a love story amidst the onset of war and was out of print for nearly three decades.

13.T. Singer by Dag Solstad (translated from the Norwegian)

A dark, not-so-happy story of a man in love, laced with humour.

My personal take

To date, I have not been disappointed with any of the boxes. Each box is always a surprise; sometimes a book that I have not heard of before, sometimes translated from a language whose literature I am new to and sometimes refreshingly set in an unfamiliar place and time. Personally I love that the box ships every alternate month because I have quite a big reading list of my own, both from my shelves and review copies, so it helps me to manage them all without feeling guilty.

Moving on to the business side of things, I admire their qualities of punctuality (both in shipping and answering queries) and perfect packaging (I’ve never received a damaged box). I have received gifted boxes from Boxwalla but not even once have they asked to me talk about it on any of my platforms. The few conversations I’ve had with them have all been only about books; no subtle hints to talk about their service and no forcing opinions to talk only good about the box. Their confidence that they deliver what they promise is what sets them apart from other businesses. I can vouch that all bookworms who are vocal about Boxwalla do it because of their love for the box.
Being a mood reader, I love the unpredictability in the titles that are included in the book box, very much evident from the books I’ve listed above. Moreover, they have helped draw my attention to so many small, independent publishers who publish excellent titles. Each book has been a journey to a new land and culture and definitely a fitting addition to the shelves.

Sound of my Language

Something I admire about Boxwalla is how they are devoted to books and literature and not just view their venture as a business. They started #thesoundofmylanguage project on Instagram and the rules are quite simple – take a video reading in your own language and post it. I am quite shy when it comes to recording my voice (or myself) but this was an idea I really wanted to support. And so I got out of my comfort zone, and after many retakes (which is funny now because I read just one sentence), I read a line from Khasakinte Itihasam in Malayalam (Link here if you are curious what I (and my language) sound like.

About the books I’ve read

The most recent books I have read from the Boxwalla selections are Her Mother’s Mother’s Mother and her Daughters and Half a Life long romance. The former is translated from the Portuguese and it is a family saga of a swaggering 500 years of Brazilian history, from the tribes to present day households! It was quite a literary feast to indulge in. Eileen Chang’s love story is a leisurely love story that made me savour how slow it is instead of getting frustrated.

Kiran Nagarkar’s Seven Sixes are Forty three was a cinematic kind of novel, experimental in nature and fascinating to read even though I did not seem to agree very well with the protagonist. It is translated from the Marathi and so an altogether different feel since I am staying in Mumbai. The other novel from India was The Legends of Khasak, translated from my mother tongue, Malayalam. The original book (Khasakinte Itihaasam) has been on my reading list for a long time so I was elated to read the English translation. I loved the read and I hope to read the Malayalam version soon.

My first books from Boxwalla were Madonna in a furcoat and The Silent Duchess. The former is a Turkish classic and I greatly enjoyed the haunting story of a man who falls in love. The latter was a new author for me but one I fell in love with straight away. The language is splendid, lyrical and atmospheric, and would appeal to fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I still have a 100 pages left to read in the book because it is so beautifully written that I do not want to reach the end of it, as strange as that reason may seem.

Dunya Mikhail’s The Beekeeper was a book that made me break into tears. It is a non fiction book that I picked up during my 30 books in 30 days challenge. It tells the plight of the Yazidis under the oppressive Daeesh (ISIS) and is a distressing and relevant book.

I’ve been reading the newest book, T. Singer this month. I’ve half read Ali and Nino, which I kept aside to come back to later as I felt I could not connect to the time and place in the novel. Truth be told, the Boxwalla collection is quite an asset to the bookshelves.

Final Verdict

Boxwalla is one of the best curated book services and I adore their boxes. They are different, unpredictable and rich in literature. I have read books that I was not aware of previously, discovered new writers and got to know of several indie presses. If you love translated books, novels set in different parts of the world or in general want to discover gems instead of the mainstream book titles, Boxwalla is a great choice. Highly recommended.

Cheers to the drunken boxwallas, as they call themselves.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to the Book Box here through the website. Each box costs $29.95 with free shipping in the US. You can check out their services on their dedicated Instagram (@theboxwalla) as well.

<Disclaimer : I have received boxes from Boxwalla but neither is this article sponsored by them nor written at their request. All opinions are entirely my own.