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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.
I’m unsure how I feel about this book. I didn’t really care for it but I couldn’t stop reading it either. The beginning starts off okay more like a drama. I can see some similarities to Jessica Knoll’s The Luckiest Girl Alive—drawn out narrative before it reaches the meat of the story. Kept waiting for some sort of major climactic moment. Still don’t know how I really feel about this one.
I’m unsure how I feel about this book. I didn’t really care for it but I couldn’t stop reading it either. The beginning starts off okay more like a drama. I can see some similarities to Jessica Knoll’s The Luckiest Girl Alive—drawn out narrative before it reaches the meat of the story. Kept waiting for some sort of major climactic moment. Still don’t know how I really feel about this one.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gillian Flynn wrote, “Female violence is a special brand of ferocity,” and after finishing Temper at 2:52 AM I could not agree more. This book is nothing like anything I’ve ever read.
This artful crescendo of fictional mastery is a twisted, suspenseful look into the female psyche and the dual narration has a sinister way of leaving the reader wanting more. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” doesn’t even begin to describe the rollercoaster of events and emotions in Fargo’s writing. Her writing penetrates every crevice of your mind and the last chapters of this book truly left me breathless, feelings as though my next breath hung at the end of the next sentence.
Temper is definitely not for everyone, but then again that’s one of the book’s main themes…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
I like Layne Fargo's writing style, and it was compelling enough to keep me reading, but I feel like I ultimately didn't connect with this book.
There was a lot about it that felt familiar to me- I have a bachelors degree in Theatre and I lived in Chicago for a couple of years. I went and saw storefront theater productions, though I tended to favor improv shows like Baby Wants Candy. But a lot of the other content felt inaccessible to me-I couldn't understand why Kira did anything she did, from her relationship with her high school teacher, to the way she interacted with anyone in her life. Really, I think I struggle with content that still insists that to be a tortured artist is a badge of honor instead of a toxic stance that doesn't allow creative people to feel like they can and should get the help they need. It's one thing to channel your pain into a creative outlet, and it's another thing to stoke and celebrate trauma for the sake of performance. And then there's the lack of consequences. Both the end of the play and the end of the book are offered as standalone moments of heightened drama, but neither take into consideration what happens after, which made me feel like the characters in the story were as unreal as the characters in the play.
The play, Temper, reminded me of a Shirley Jackson short story where a wife keeps imagining harming her husband and tries to separate out what's normal to imagine within one's private imagination, and the rational and irrational angry that transforms thought into action. But I didn't think that Temper made sense as a play title or book title, unless it was meant to be a diminishment of female rage.
There was a lot about it that felt familiar to me- I have a bachelors degree in Theatre and I lived in Chicago for a couple of years. I went and saw storefront theater productions, though I tended to favor improv shows like Baby Wants Candy. But a lot of the other content felt inaccessible to me-I couldn't understand why Kira did anything she did, from her relationship with her high school teacher, to the way she interacted with anyone in her life. Really, I think I struggle with content that still insists that to be a tortured artist is a badge of honor instead of a toxic stance that doesn't allow creative people to feel like they can and should get the help they need. It's one thing to channel your pain into a creative outlet, and it's another thing to stoke and celebrate trauma for the sake of performance. And then there's the lack of consequences. Both the end of the play and the end of the book are offered as standalone moments of heightened drama, but neither take into consideration what happens after, which made me feel like the characters in the story were as unreal as the characters in the play.
The play, Temper, reminded me of a Shirley Jackson short story where a wife keeps imagining harming her husband and tries to separate out what's normal to imagine within one's private imagination, and the rational and irrational angry that transforms thought into action. But I didn't think that Temper made sense as a play title or book title, unless it was meant to be a diminishment of female rage.