by Lilibet Snellings
2014
Box Girl by Lilibet Snellings is a quirky little book that is fun to read.
Recent college graduate Snellings, unable to find a job and caught up in an unfulfilled love affair, decides to move with some of her friends to Los Angeles. Like many young people before her, she assumes she will enjoy the warm climate, sunny beaches, and eventually get some acting (or at least modeling) jobs.
Reality quickly sets in Snellings and her friends are forced to move from one outrageously expensive apartment to another and are compelled to work at a variety of very odd jobs. One of these odd jobs is as a box girl at the Standard Hotel.
Ostensibly a work of art, the box is a large glass box, decorated differently at various times of the year, in which a young woman sits for hours at a time. She is allowed to read, sleep, and cruise the Internet, but she must not interact with or look at any of the guests or hotel staff. And yes, she is allowed to get out to use the restroom!
At first, Snellings just considers it an odd (but easy!) job. She doesn't think about the social or sexual implications, or about any feminist objections to the "art." A job is a job, after all. But as time goes on (and she has plenty of time to think about her life and listen to those outside the box) she grows more philosophical. She finds hundreds of ways to justify the box in her mind, but admits that when one hotel guest creepily whispers to the desk clerk, "Is she for sale?" it shocks her to her core and makes her realize just how some might be perceiving her and her time in the box.
This memoir is not just about the box, however, as she recounts many other adventures in Los Angeles, and some of the experiences prior to her move, including what led to it. Ultimately, she decides that the box is a work of art, at least in the sense that it is a reflection of the person looking at it. It can be a reflection of ugly sexism to some or fascinated curiosity to others, but always different.
Overall, this is a thoughtful, and funny, book written by an intelligent young woman.
You can find this book in our New Section with the call number 702.81 Snel.L.
Marian
Librarian
Martinsburg Public Library
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