Temper

Our unnamed narrator has moved with her partner to the Netherlands, setting up as a freelance copywriter. His job comes with a readymade social life to which our narrator awkwardly attaches herself, aware she has little of interest to offer. Catching herself sliding into apathy, she tries out at a choir where she meets Colette, abrasive, nosy and pushy, who demands her number, firing off a string of texts as soon as they part. She drifts on, filling the free time she’d longed for with pointless tasks, occasionally meeting Colette who is at first persistent but gradually backs off until it’s our narrator who appears to be stalking her. She longs to be a part of something, to belong somewhere, increasingly feeling that she’s losing her sense of herself but not knowing how to restore it. Threaded through her experience in this new country where she doesn’t entirely understand social conventions nor speak the language, are memories of her earlier life, some in stark contrast to this new, lonely existence. Walker’s brief novella is an unsettling read, an intimate interior monologue which becomes increasingly discomfiting as our narrator’s isolation takes hold.

Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight Books for sending me this advanced copy for review.

Temper is essentially the narrator’s inner thoughts following her recent move to the Netherlands with her partner, a move which is triggered by her partner’s job.

We never learn the narrator’s name yet I felt so connected with her and her inner thoughts. She doesn’t find socialising as easy as those around her and we join her on an awkward journey navigating her new life and desperate need to belong.

Phoebe Walker does a truly stunning job at portraying the strange frustration between wanting to fit in yet wanting to keep others at a distance.

The story really made me think about how much we associate our ‘purpose’ with how others perceive us. The narrator here struggles with feeling like she doesn’t have a purpose, purely because other people don’t seem to need her or crave her attention as much as she craves theirs.

I usually don’t enjoy books where nothing significant happens, but I got through Temper in one sitting and it’s definitely one I’d recommend for 2023!

I really loved this book, I went in to it with no expectations and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful writing and the relatability of the narrator. It's a short read but powerful, and I got through it really quickly, I found it difficult to put down! Thanks so much for the early copy, I'll definitely be recommending this to colleagues & book friends :-)

Temper is an introspective novella about an english woman that moves to the Netherlands after her partner’s job transfers over there. There’s a lot of exploration surrounding the choice between loneliness and friends for convenience, and to what extent we’re innately social creatures or making connections for the sake of keeping up appearances and comparison. The narrator tends to be quite heavy on the judgement side and she’s a bit all over the place at times which makes her an interesting perspective to read from. I’m not sure if i was ever necessarily rooting for her but i was invested in her decisions. The writing style in this one was lyrical and contemplative so it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a quiet read, and it fits nicely into my current favourite sub-genre which is books about women feeling lost in their twenties with a very loose plot.