notoriousesr 's review for:

Temper by Layne Fargo

3.25

dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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 Indifferent Honest is an indie, non-eq theater company in Chicago, famous for its bold, edgy productions and its perennial leading man, Malcolm Mercer. When Kira Rascher, a struggling actress in her early 30s, auditions for their world-premiere production of Temper, she thinks she can handle Malcolm’s mercurial and intense direction. What she doesn’t account for is the theater’s executive director, Joanna Cuyler, and the lengths they will push each other for their art.

This book was complicated for me. I think the blurb sold it more as a conflict between Joanna and Kira, when really it all revolved around Malcolm, and that felt like the more boring choice. Everyone who’s ever worked in the theatre knows bad men willing to hurt anyone in order to elevate their craft, and I was hoping that Temper would reinvent that and take the power and mystique away from the abusive auteur. It didn’t, and that made aspects of the book feel too obvious. However, I still enjoyed much of it, and I thought Fargo did a great job creating two unlikable but still compelling female narrators, and the perspective switch between each chapter actually worked to the book’s favor. 3 out of 5 stage slaps.