Calls May Be Recorded

by Katharina Volckmer

A ribald and mordantly hilarious workplace satire from an iconoclastic new voice, featuring one of the most charmingly troubled narrators of recent memory.

Jimmie works in a London call center, fielding complaints from dissatisfied travelers. Concerns range from whether compulsive itching will attract sharks in Mykonos, to the queue at the infinity pools in Maldives, to stray hairs on pillows: “the utterings of people at odds with their own hedonism, holidays made unenjoyable by their own expectations.”

Today is different, Jimmie’s co-worker Elin warns him. Jimmie is on the chopping block, and his boss, Simon, has followed him into the bathroom during an unauthorized break to request an “urgent” meeting. Also, his partner in an illicit bathroom tryst the week before has been promoted from wearing one of the color-coded staff hoodies, to the position of a hoodie-free assistant manager. The mystery caller could ring at any moment, and Jimmie’s cube-neighbor, Wolf, suspects he’s acting even stranger than usual. It could be because he’s wearing his mother’s cheap red lipstick, staring longingly out the sole window in the communal kitchen.

With remarkable dexterity and an acerbic wit, Katharina Volckmer skewers the corporate workplace and watercooler relationships, culminating in an insightful and powerfully moving portrait of loneliness and human connection.

"This book is filled with brilliant dialogue, unexpected turns, some very dirty talk with sudden bursts of hilarity, and then fierce sadness. It exudes dark energy. It is highly original. It gives pleasure on every page."
—Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn and Long Island

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, LGBT, Germany, Book Club, Gay, Novella

166 pages, Paperback

Published September 16, 2025

Reviews

[☆LaurA☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dell'autrice avevo letto "un cazzo ebreo" ed ero rimasta piacevolmente colpita da come gestiva alcuni temi, dal suo modo di raccontare, un flusso continuo, senza interruzioni, quasi soffocante.
Così, quando ho visto la nuova copertina accattivante, mi sono messa le cuffie del call center ed ho ascoltato la storia di Jimmie. Emigrato a Londra da bambino, solo con la madre, in un corpo che non sentiva suo per vari motivi.
Questa volta non è solo la sessualità a rendere impossibile la convivenza con il corpo, ma anche l'aspetto esteriore rendono insicuro il personaggio principale.
Anche qui troviamo temi importanti, forti. Temi che sono lo specchio della nostra società.
La storia si sviluppa, come dicevo, in un call center di reclami per viaggi da sogno.

Non mi ha proprio convinta però.
Nessuna empatia con Jimmie, troppa carne al fuoco e lasciata bruciare senza mai controllarla.
Praticamente solo le ultime 10 pagine bastavano per rendere questo romanzo un piccolo gioiello e invece.....

Diciamo che dopo un esordio esplosivo,audace e ironico, Katharina si è lasciata un po' prendere la mano.
Peccato!

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confusing, disorienting, disgustingly erotic, freakish, disturbing, and weird enough to kill a small Victorian child. 10/10, an absolute hoot.

Thank you to Two Dollar Radio for my ARC. I will cherish it forever.

[. . . _ _ _ . . . · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queer υπέρβαρος Ιταλός μετανάστης που ζει με την μητέρα του, εργάζεται σε γραμμή παραπόνων εταιρίας που προσφέρει διακοπές σε πολυτελή θέρετρα και ακούει τα first world problems ξιπασμενων τουριστων ανά τον κόσμο.
Φυσικά για πολλοστή φορά έπεσα στην παγίδα της Γλειφω και πηρα το βιβλίο (ευτυχώς second hand) δηλαδή μετρηστε κλισέ: queer, υπέρβαρος, μετανάστης, Ιταλίδα μητέρα, με κάτι τέτοια ο μέσος συντάκτης Γλειφω παθαίνει overdose. Α! Και ένας εργασιακός μεσαίωνας. Κρίμα,κριμα, κριμα, τόσες πολλές καλές ιδέες, τόσο άτσαλα ριγμένες σε μια αισθητική δήθεν queer λογοτεχνιας, λες και ένας gay ασχολείται μόνο με πουτσους. Ο κεντρικος χαρακτήρας δούλευε και σε γραφείο κηδειων που έκανε τον κομπαρσο τεθλιμμενο συγγενή σε κηδείες (;), ε βάλε να ερεθιστει λίγο με το πτώμα του Ιταλού daddy. Όχι δεν σοκαρομαι με τέτοιες πιπες (α, έχει και απο αυτες), με σοκάρει πιο πολύ το γεγονός που η ηλιθια Γερμανιδα συγγραφέας (ο Θεός να την κανει) ΝΟΜΙΖΕΙ ότι μας σοκάρουν τέτοιες πιπες. Γαμωτο, νομίζω το αδικώ με το ένα αστερακι, αλλά η αισθητική Παναγιώτη Χατζηστεφανου (τέρμα η δικτατορία της Νανσυ και της κάθε Νανσυ) πετάει στα σκατα οτιδήποτε προσπαθεί να ξεμυτισει από τον βούρκο, όπως η μοναξιά του ήρωα. Και καλά πες για πιπες, γαμησου στην δουλειά (με κάθε έννοια), ερεθισου με πτώματα, τι με νοιαζει; Μια στοιχειώδη καλή γραφή να είχες, αντιθέτως έχουμε μια ανοικονομητη εξιστόρηση μεταξύ stream of consciousness και ατελείωτων τηλεφωνήματων, που όσες καλές προθέσεις να είχες, το γαμησες και ψόφησε (see what I did there?).

EDIT : τελικά του βάζω 2 αστεράκια από 1. Δεν βαριέσαι, μαζί μου θα τα πάρω; Σκέφτομαι ακόμη κάποια πράγματα (το φινάλε ας πουμε), οπότε δεν ήταν και τόσο κακό, έτσι; Εξακολουθώ να το έχω μάλλον στο 1,5 *, αλλά με την στρογγυλοποιηση προς τα πάνω αυτή την φορά. Κατά τα άλλα...βλέπε ανωτέρω

[ritareadthat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Sharp, witty, gritty, unseemly, foul, ludicrous, blatantly absurd, line-crossing, genre-crossing, cross-dressing, thoughtful, bold, sad, uproarious, satirical, oh-no-she-really-didn't-just-go-there, entertaining, preposterous, engaging, indecent, memorable, relatable, ambiguous, amoral, thought-provoking, self-deprecating, gentle, friendly, disgust-and-horror-inducing, conflicting, raunchy...utterly brilliant.

Is that a Holy Grail mixed bag of descriptive words or what? I poured my soul into every word I could think of to give you an idea of the range that this book encompasses. I feel like I just ran a feelings marathon, "Let's see how many feelings you can evoke from reading just one book!"

This book crosses every taboo line you can think of and then maybe goes further. It dips a toe into the water of some of those uncrossable lines and then yanks that toe right back with a shiver and a chill.

Now that we are off to a roaring start, allow us to consider the television show The Office. Funny, witty, everyone loves it. So let's take The Office and just for a lark, let's throw in just a sprinkle of a vibe of Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. Add a very healthy dose of satire, and voila! We have Calls May Be Recorded, one of the most hilariously disturbing books that I have read this year.

Jimmie is a poor schlub who works at a call center, Vanilla Travels Ltd, in London. In his office they are tasked with handling complaint calls from travellers who have booked vacations at hotels around Europe. Our story is about one day in Jimmie's life at work. We look at innumerable inappropriate transgressions he partakes in while on the clock, we hear about his mommy issues, and we hear about his sex life (or lack thereof for the most part).

Read and enjoy, and then realize where we land upon completion. Our author has successfully incorporated some powerful themes; she takes a hard, and sometimes harsh, look at self-image, race, class, sexuality, self-confidence, and weight management. Mixed into it all, the author somehow weaves, amidst the snarkiness, a gentleness that peeks out from behind the clouds at opportune moments. We see glimpses of who Jimmie could be if he didn't hide behind the facade he has erected to defend himself and hide his feelings.

I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book. Is it crass? Is it rude? Yes and yes. Can you look beyond that to see someone who is burying his pain by using humor and vulgarity to get by? I hope so, because there were also a lot of solid reflections and wisdom shared in this incisively written compact book.

Many thanks to the publisher for a gifted ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review!



9/16/25
some of the best books are those which make you feel conflicted. wow. disgusting and raunchy, yet utterly brilliant. more thoughts to come later today.

[Gerasimos Evangelatos]

Είναι αλλόκοτο, είναι αναιδές, είναι πικρό, ειναι προκλητικό κι αδιανόητα αστείο. Κι όλα αυτά μαζί. Μια ανελέητη αιχμηρή σάτιρα των σύγχρονων εργασιακών συνθηκών, των ταξικών αποστάσεων αλλά και της αβάσταχτης προσωπικής μοναξιάς του καθενός μας.

[Charlotte S · Rating 2 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY. NOTHING. HAPPENS.

I couldn't get past the 102 page because in the first half of the book, nothing happens. Nothing. We just get pages after pages of internal monologue of probably the most boring character ever existed. Even in 'the stranger' by Camus where the character is quite monotonous and has a lot of internal monologue, things at least happen around him. Here nothing. We just get a few calls, where there is finally some dialog, that are finished in less than 2 pages.

First book I won't ever finish.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Shelf Awareness review: In Katharina Volckmer's outrageous second novel, a sex-obsessed call center employee confronts his issues with his self-absorbed mother and his own overweight body during one typical day on the job.

Jimmie may work for London's Vanilla Travels Ltd., but his sexual fantasies are anything but. The homosexual and former actor is preoccupied with his weight ("his body was taking up too much space") and still lives with his mother, "the Signora" ("Raised by women, Jimmie had been pro-vagina for as long as he could think. Even if they did nothing for him erotically, he had always acknowledged their struggle"). His catholic imagination covers heterosexual hook-ups between colleagues and a co-worker's toilet habits. And it's not all in his head; while wearing his mother's lipstick, he pleasures a male colleague in a bathroom stall.

"Thank you for waiting. My name is Jimmie. How can I help you today?" each call opens. He's on the complaints line. The customers' situations are bizarre--the hotel room is too orange, the pool boys are not flirtatious enough, the "Romantic Spa Break" is not welcoming to singles--and his replies are wildly inappropriate. It's only a matter of time until he faces disciplinary action. In fact, his supervisor asks for a meeting that afternoon. But through one last call, Jimmie just might find the impetus to change his life.

As in her debut novella, The Appointment, Volckmer fearlessly probes the psychological origins of gender dysphoria and sexual behavior. This X-rated version of The Office, though not for the squeamish or easily offended, is uproarious fun for Shalom Auslander and Timur Vermes fans.

(Posted with permission from Shelf Awareness.)

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is weird, unique, and a little bit wild!

Set in a chaotic London call centre, Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes follows Jimmie, a not-so-by-the-book employee who blurs the line between customer service and full-blown performance art. He doesn’t just solve problems—he dives headfirst into the bizarre fantasies and frustrations of customers and colleagues, offering a sharp, irreverent look at modern work culture with humour, melancholy, and a generous dose of mischief.

This is definitely more of a vibe than a plot-driven novel. We trail Jimmie through a series of surreal and often satirical escapades, many of which are wildly inappropriate and unapologetically weird. Love him or loathe him, Jimmie says it how it is—and his razor-sharp observations about the absurdity of working life are both compelling and hilarious. Even when I found myself cringing at some of the more graphic (and, yes, filthy) moments—that’s a me thing—I couldn’t look away.

The characters Jimmie encounters, both in person and on the phone, are delightfully bizarre and often perplexing. Yet amidst all the roleplay and madness, there are flickers of unexpected tenderness. Jimmie’s empathy and vulnerability peek through in surprising ways.

It’s not always clear where Jimmie ends and his characters begin, which can be disorienting (I definitely felt that at times), and there are plenty of eyebrow-raising, toilet-humour moments—literally and figuratively. But if you’re up for a non-linear, genre-blurring, dirty-talking, offbeat read with heart, give this one a go.

AD: Thank you to Indigo Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Bibow · Rating 1 out of 5]

meu deus que livro ruim. ele é objetivamente ruim. eu nem sei o que falar...poucos livros não deveriam ser publicados e com certeza esse é um deles.

caí no bom e velho conto da capa bonita...me sinto extremamente enganada. meu deus que livro ruim eu tô chocada

esse é livro tão ruim que me fez aumentar a nota que eu dei para copo vazio pq agora eu tenho um novo parâmetro para livros ruins

[César Jiménez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jimmie es un trabajador de un call center con una vida aburrida y basada en las necesidades de una madre que lo manipula.
Es muy lento, no engancha. La portada parece un acto de marketing porque el título en castellano con coincide con la traducción en inglés ‘ Calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes’.

[Sohan Pague · Rating 2 out of 5]

J’abandonne il se passe rien j’ai perdu patience

[Andre Aguiar]

a ciranda eterna de produção de descontentamento, a vergonha passada de geração em geração — como a loucura e os pés feios.

[Paula Daues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ganz ehrlich: das war ein weirdes Buch aber hat mich auf ne Art gut unterhalten.

[Fanny]

Στο δεύτερό της βιβλίο, Wonderfuck (μτφρ. Κρυστάλλη Γλυνιαδάκη, εκδ. Στερέωμα), η Φόλκμερ συστήνει με τριτοπρόσωπη αφήγηση έναν άλλον αντισυμβατικό χαρακτήρα, ο οποίος με τη σειρά του θα εξαντλήσει τα όρια των συνομιλητών του. Στραμμένη προς το τραύμα, τις δυσλειτουργικές σχέσεις και την ψυχική ευθραυστότητα, η Γερμανίδα συγγραφέας εξετάζει κυρίως την ευαλωτότητα και την κρυφή δύναμη ενός χοντρού κουίρ σώματος, αλλά και την πρόσληψή του στον κοινωνικό χώρο. Την ολοζώντανη μετάφραση υπογράφει η Κρυστάλλη Γλυνιαδάκη.

Διαβάστε και εδώ αναλυτικά:
https://bookpress.gr/kritikes/xeni-pe...

[Samantha Noonan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly original and very funny. Loved this.

[Ferne ♛ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should be zero stars. Thankfully it's a short book as I've dnf'd enough this year. That was not at all what I was expecting, vulgar, jumps around with no real rhyme or reason. I found the main character unlikeable and found it did not match the blurbs description. I think I spent longer (2 hours) reading this than the author took to write it.

[Niamh · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably more of a 2.5

you would get into a section of this book, be really enjoying it and then all of a sudden you're confused and it doesn't make sense again

also a lot of this seemed to be weird for the sake of being weird and that's coming from a gal who loves all things strange

[Matti · Rating 1 out of 5]

war richtig Arsch

[Paris Carroll · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap

[Eli Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a lot more unhinged than anyone could reasonably expect it to be based on the back cover copy. it starts with a multi-page soliloquy on shitting your pants and ends with the main character having phone sex at work.

[Pablo E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jimmie es un inmigrante italiano en Londres que vive junto a su madre (eterna viuda) y un gato. “Vivir” quizás sea decir mucho, pues Jimmie busca ante todo tener horarios que le impidan verla. Para ello, trabaja en el último turno de un call center, buscando resolver los problemas de pasajeros de turismo. La verdad, la cantidad y tipo de requerimientos raya en los ridículo, y sus compañeros de trabajo parecen tener cada uno una historia increíble, lo que sumado a una personalidad de Jimmie parecida a la de Ignatius en “La Conjura de Los necios”, nos permiten suponer las más extrañas de las interacciones. Como dato curioso, Volckmer es alemana pero la novela se publicó originalmente en inglés, con un título que podríamos traducir como “Las llamadas pueden ser grabadas para efectos de capacitación y monitoreo”, mientras que en alemán el título sería “Hola, mi nombre es Jimmie, ¿qué puedo hacer por ti?”. Algunas ediciones también titulan el libro como “Wonderfuck”, en la misma línea que el castellano.

“Todo aquello formaba ahora parte del pasado, tan lejano como su juventud, o como la última vez que había visto sonreír a su madre. Inalcanzable, igual que la noción de placer cuando uno va camino del trabajo. Como había hecho ya tantos días a estas alturas, Jimmie se fue preparando para convertirse en la persona que sus colegas de trabajo esperaban ver, y mientras observaba con la mirada perdida al resto de gente del autobús, todos intentando existir en un espacio que preferirían no compartir, intentando eludir los recuerdos que sus cuerpos habían generando, comprendió al fin que no era nada. Un vacío”.

[Ash HC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing, pointless and needlessly gross.
I liked the premise and was eager to get stuck in but then this book delivered absolutely nothing. It was disgusting for the sake of it, the protagonist was self pitying, boring, and pathetic with nothing to redeem him. I was intrigued by his relationship to his mother but also confused because for about 1/3 of the novel I thought Helena was his mother because he kept referring to her but then she turned out to be a coworker and I was even less sure of what their relationship was. The phone sex scene was fine, but really it was a poor man’s Vox.

[Sadhbh O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a strange little book. In content yes I guess but I more struggled with the fact the narrative was loose and meandering at first and it felt like a whole lot of nothing was going to happen. The writing was beautiful and fierce and unexpected though - the kind where I doubled back to re-digest it.

It found it’s real flow around half way through when the pieces began to fit together and the more meandering narrative clarified. I found it funny and moving and sad and gross and weird and in the end really enjoyed it.

[Simophys95 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purtroppo mi aspettavo di più da questo libro. Jimmie è un personaggio interessante, ma la scrittura ha rovinato l'esperienza di lettura (forse un problema di traduzione, o forse sono io a non aver capito fino in fondo lo stile). Le tematiche toccate dal romanzo sono numerose e complesse ma nessuna viene affrontata fino in fondo. Un po' un'occasione mancata forse, come se fosse una bozza di un progetto più grande pubblicata per pressioni editoriali. Peccato perché il finale mi ha sorpreso positivamente.

[Helena · Rating 2 out of 5]

sometimes i feel like saying unhinged things at work but not like this

[Alessandra Bucca · Rating 3 out of 5]

se cercate un libro condito con black humour, originale, sconvolgente, con volgarità e taaanti riferimenti sessuali, questo è il libro giusto.

penso che il fine fosse rappresentare, con lo stesso stile squallido e osceno, la vita di un piccolo impiegato di un call center che sente che niente nella sua vita abbia un'importanza. Per questo vive ogni suo aspetto della sua esistenza, a partire dal suo lavoro e dalla sua sessualità, con ironia e malinconica rassegnazione.
Troppo surreale e volgare per i miei gusti.
autrice però capace di farti provare lo stesso disagio esistenziale del protagonista

[Dan Gauna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Este libro, descrito como humor negro, ofrece una historia que logra captar la atención con el desarrollo interesante de su protagonista. Aunque hubo un momento en el que la narrativa perdió un poco mi interés, la trama logra remontar y cerrar con fuerza. Es una lectura ideal para el verano, ligera pero con sustancia, y definitivamente me ha dejado con ganas de explorar más obras de esta autora

[Lorenzo Montanari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Simonas · Rating 1 out of 5]

die Person die diese Scheiße von Buch fabriziert hat, sollte bestraft werden

[Frankie Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literatura para entretener; está bien para el verano. A leer!!