Review of Pandora's Lockbox
Posted: 21 Jan 2022, 20:18
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Pandora's Lockbox" by Nico Griffith.]
1982 was a bad year for Nico Griffith. She had just had a miscarriage due to stress; her mortgage company was struggling. After her miscarriage, she signed over her share of the business to her partner. This was followed up by her husband announcing, on his way out the door to his work, that he wanted a divorce. With no child, job, or husband, she had to start over. It was a sluggish economy, and her skills overqualified her for most jobs. Eventually, Nico joined Fakke & Company, selling real estate. Due to her hard work and drive, she managed to become one of the most successful agents in the business. Her book is a compilation of the stories and experiences that she and her fellow agents accumulated through the 1980s and 90s. Many of the tales are humorous, a few of them are sad, some are scandalous, and occasionally the story describes a dangerous situation in which one of the agents was involved. None of them are boring.
Pandora’s Lockbox by Nico Griffith is a 257-page book listed in the non-fiction genre. The story is followed by a quiz titled “So, You Want to be an Agent (Reality Check Quiz).” These are questions, just for fun, that advise you if you possess the personality to succeed if you become an agent. This is followed up with a “Glossary of Real Estate Vocabulary” that is beneficial for those of us not in the business.
Ms. Griffith enjoys a gift for recounting the fascinating tales that these agents experienced. She is very descriptive, quite often humorously so, and her narrative is excellent at conveying various emotions, such as excitement and sadness. I observed myself laughing aloud at times and then crying at other times. It transports those of us who have never been in the business on an intriguing journey into the world of real estate and the difficulties faced there. Ms. Griffith comes across as very friendly with a willingness to assist others. This is demonstrated by the closeness of the relationships that she develops with her clients and the secrets they entrust to her. However, she allows us to know that she is flawed, like every other human being. An example is when one of her clients, on his deathbed, made her promise to look out for his wife. Clearly, she must have developed a great relationship with them in order for him to make that request. However, after a few years of occasionally talking with his wife, she didn’t speak with her again for several years (when the client called Nico to request help in selling her home). Her life seemed to be a disaster. To Nico’s credit, she then stepped up and spent a great deal of time and effort assisting her with her situation.
The importance of friends represents an underlying theme in the story. Nico was abandoned without much support when her husband and, consequently, most of their friends left her. Nico and a group of her close associates through work helped each other through the bad times and celebrated the good times together. Their tales were also included in the book.
Although I enjoyed the book greatly, too many errors were detected for a perfect score. For example, there were no capitalized words for half of page 42 and half of page 43. Another round of editing would help it reach its full potential. Because this was the only thing I didn't like, Pandora’s Lockbox receives a rating of three out of four stars. I think other agents would enjoy this the most as they could relate to the situations, and it would probably evoke their own similar memories. However, other readers can appreciate it as well. The story offers a taste of the difficulties that the agents faced in the 1980s and 90s. Fans who prefer fictional novels with lots of action may not enjoy it as much.
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Pandora's Lockbox
View: on Bookshelves
1982 was a bad year for Nico Griffith. She had just had a miscarriage due to stress; her mortgage company was struggling. After her miscarriage, she signed over her share of the business to her partner. This was followed up by her husband announcing, on his way out the door to his work, that he wanted a divorce. With no child, job, or husband, she had to start over. It was a sluggish economy, and her skills overqualified her for most jobs. Eventually, Nico joined Fakke & Company, selling real estate. Due to her hard work and drive, she managed to become one of the most successful agents in the business. Her book is a compilation of the stories and experiences that she and her fellow agents accumulated through the 1980s and 90s. Many of the tales are humorous, a few of them are sad, some are scandalous, and occasionally the story describes a dangerous situation in which one of the agents was involved. None of them are boring.
Pandora’s Lockbox by Nico Griffith is a 257-page book listed in the non-fiction genre. The story is followed by a quiz titled “So, You Want to be an Agent (Reality Check Quiz).” These are questions, just for fun, that advise you if you possess the personality to succeed if you become an agent. This is followed up with a “Glossary of Real Estate Vocabulary” that is beneficial for those of us not in the business.
Ms. Griffith enjoys a gift for recounting the fascinating tales that these agents experienced. She is very descriptive, quite often humorously so, and her narrative is excellent at conveying various emotions, such as excitement and sadness. I observed myself laughing aloud at times and then crying at other times. It transports those of us who have never been in the business on an intriguing journey into the world of real estate and the difficulties faced there. Ms. Griffith comes across as very friendly with a willingness to assist others. This is demonstrated by the closeness of the relationships that she develops with her clients and the secrets they entrust to her. However, she allows us to know that she is flawed, like every other human being. An example is when one of her clients, on his deathbed, made her promise to look out for his wife. Clearly, she must have developed a great relationship with them in order for him to make that request. However, after a few years of occasionally talking with his wife, she didn’t speak with her again for several years (when the client called Nico to request help in selling her home). Her life seemed to be a disaster. To Nico’s credit, she then stepped up and spent a great deal of time and effort assisting her with her situation.
The importance of friends represents an underlying theme in the story. Nico was abandoned without much support when her husband and, consequently, most of their friends left her. Nico and a group of her close associates through work helped each other through the bad times and celebrated the good times together. Their tales were also included in the book.
Although I enjoyed the book greatly, too many errors were detected for a perfect score. For example, there were no capitalized words for half of page 42 and half of page 43. Another round of editing would help it reach its full potential. Because this was the only thing I didn't like, Pandora’s Lockbox receives a rating of three out of four stars. I think other agents would enjoy this the most as they could relate to the situations, and it would probably evoke their own similar memories. However, other readers can appreciate it as well. The story offers a taste of the difficulties that the agents faced in the 1980s and 90s. Fans who prefer fictional novels with lots of action may not enjoy it as much.
******
Pandora's Lockbox
View: on Bookshelves