Temporary

Every now and then I add a book to my list because I read about it, and then I forget about it completely. Months and years later, I end up reading it anyway, but without any context, as if I had picked it up at random from the millions of books available in the world. It's a funny experience.

It's really at these times that I see the value of reviews and word of mouth. If you've already heard that the book is hysterically funny, uncommonly profound, or so moving that you're scarred for life, you'll be scrambling to find evidence to prove it. That's why the publisher will often present a list of glowing reviews in the first few pages. And I've noticed that for me, at least, it works pretty well.

With Temporary, I had no idea what to expect, which is a shame. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had had a little introduction.

Summary

The narrator dreams of stability, but for the moment she is only a temporary employee. She works for an agency that gives her all kinds of contracts, each one more eccentric than the next. She washes skyscraper windows, replaces mannequins in shop windows, carries the ashes of the dead boss so that he can continue to see the world, replaces a pirate on a ship, and a barnacle in the sea.

To be consistent, there is nothing stable in her personal life either. She has a multitude of boyfriends, each with their own characteristics: there is the caffeinated boyfriend, the tall boyfriend, the peaceful boyfriend, etc. They all know each other, and even become very (too) good friends in her absence.

So she goes from job to job and boyfriend to boyfriend, and the more time passes, the more stability seems unattainable.

Impressions

You got it: it's absurd. I like absurdity, it often makes me laugh. I listen to Monty Python these days and I'm laughing my ass off.

But I wasn't laughing. I didn't understand anything, and I didn't like it. I felt like there was a second level, but I couldn't reach it because my brain was too busy panicking. I felt like a fool. I could laugh slightly, inside, at the absurdity of the situations, at the originality of it all. But I must admit that I just wanted to get through it.

There is certainly a message conveyed in this novel about the work situation of many people, especially in times of pandemic. There is a larger reflection to be had on the temporary aspect of just about everything in life. But did I need this book to realize that? Not sure.

I can be boring. It happens. But it's quite possible that if you go into this reading, you'll find yourself boring too.