Reviews

Temporary by Hilary Leichter

meganoh's review

4.0

An absurdist novel that follows a woman’s quest to find her “permanent job” as she navigates ridiculous temp jobs, set in a world best described as a caricature of job culture in late-stage capitalism. I really liked the premise of the book, which had the potential to ask questions about how our jobs may feed into our identity, purpose, and relationships. The absurdity of the situations and jobs she's assigned provoked both humour and reflection. However, the narrative felt disjointed at times, and I couldn’t properly engage with what exactly the author was trying to highlight.

raleyr's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

Wow. Just absolutely obsessed. A fever dream with deep prose scattered throughout. 

brainrotgarden's review

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

liked this way more than i was expecting to. so fun & interesting to read, especially as someone who's chronically unemployed and currently on the job hunt. truly a book of gems and wonders! love love love

nooralala's review

adventurous funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

combepherre's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

plantsugar's review against another edition

funny reflective

ohclaire's review

4.0

Wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did--surrealist in a fun way with gorgeous (if pretentious) writing.

fluttertutter's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

kept me engaged but i don’t think i understand the book….? feels like there’s a deeper meaning than finding permanence finding ourselves finding our purpose??? can’t tell if it’s trying to tell us that nothing is permanent everything is temporary like your usefulness in the world etc

felt this at the part where she got ‘fired’ from being the boy’s mother - kinda suggesting that it’s like that in real life too? at a certain point mothers lose their ‘usefulness’ when children no longer need their mothers. and this applies to almost everything actually???

maybe the only thing permanent is really change and your purpose is ever changing and it’s up to you????? honestly don’t think i get the book lol but if i just overlook the hidden message then the book becomes…. rather meaningless just random woman jumping from job to job with a bunch of boyfriends and speaking of the boyfriends i don’t get them too?!?? am i just too dumb for this book lol 

mlkelsall's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.75

flyingorcas's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0