Temporary

Books that are comically dark, whimsically surreal, and sometimes strangely wholesome are currently my vibe, so it fits the bill. Even if at first the plot seems aimless, it ultimately wraps up quite nicely.

3.75 ⭐️

A fantastical and poetic millennial fairy tale (think dystopian Hans Christian Andersen) that is wholly unserious in the best kind of way.

On a more critical note, many sections felt frenzied in a way that detracted from any emotions evoked. I only wish there was a bit more space in the sentences to give the reader a chance to linger on some of the heavier bits.

A curious magical realism novel about the anxiety of temp work that gets too caught up in its fiction to construct a coherent theme. There’s definitely something here about how living under capitalism puts you in a constant state of precariousness you are then left to try and outrun, but it’s muddied with this strange romantic notion of being middle class and eventually a girlboss at the end of the world. I like the whimsical prose but there’s only so many homophone jokes I can take before I’m dying for real character development.

I really enjoyed this, until I didn't. I had to put it down for a day and come back to it. I can only take so much clever at one time. I find I handle it better in small bites.
Temporary is very, very clever. I found myself chuckling to myself. I especially loved the pirate ship.

One of the strangest books I've read. I've never done drugs before but I imagine this is what drugs is. I will say, out of the books I've read so far this year (which is quite a few), this is one of the ones that I keep pondering in passing moments. Despite the baffling nature of the book, the ending is quite good. It fits the book and provides something for the reader to take away from. What does it mean to be temporary? Is there anything that isn't temporary. I hope that this review, unlike myself, achieves permanence.