Temper

by Phoebe Walker

"There’s a gap where my sense of place should be. It’s quite a useful one sometimes. It allows me to sit on the cusp of an opinion."

Following a move to the Netherlands, a young woman dissects the developments of her new awkward exchanges with the people she meets, days spent alone freelancing in her apartment, her confrontation with boredom and unease.

In her newfound isolation, she develops an unusual friendship with Colette, a woman she neither likes nor can keep away from. As her feelings of dislocation grow, larger anxieties about her purpose – or lack thereof – begin to encroach. And underneath it all, a burgeoning frustration bubbles.

Exploring loneliness, self-worth, and disconnection with head-nodding accuracy, Phoebe Walker's debut novel Temper is perfect for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

Originally from Northumberland, Phoebe has lived in both London and the Netherlands and is now based in Manchester. Her debut poetry pamphlet, Animal Noises, won an Eric Gregory Award in 2021. Pheobe also received the Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award in 2019 and a Northern Writers' Award for poetry in 2012.

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published April 13, 2023

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novel documents the inner thoughts of an unnamed young woman who has moved to the Netherlands with her partner, Robin, for his job. The narrator works from home and most of her interactions(which are few) are with Robin’s coworkers at drinks, with the accompanying uncomfortable small talk. She comes into contact with Colette at a choir group. This woman is strange from the start and the weird relationship is about the only thing that really happens. Divided into four sections named after the seasons, I found this to be an engrossing read. Her intimate thoughts show her loneliness, disconnectedness and alienation from society, all things that resonated with me. Just general frustrations with life and its meaning, and the pointlessness of many modern activities and lifestyles. A quietly absorbing read.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit listless but that's probably the price you pay for capturing urban loneliness.

[Sunny Lu]

DNF 10%

[Lilian · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

what a one-of-a-kind little book 🤗

temper shows us into the mind of a woman who has moved to the Netherlands with her partner, and the loneliness and dislocation she feels as a consequence.

although it stung at times to read about someone not enjoying living in my home country (however I believe she was based in amsterdam so I don’t blame her), I realised I could see more of myself in the main character than I first thought. jessica andrews, the author of milk teeth, described this book as a must-read for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, and that is exactly what it is, and exactly why I enjoyed it as much as I did as a non-Brit living in England.

it is extremely tough to make friends when you’re not in school or at university, and I can imagine even more so when you move to a new country and don’t speak the language. I felt just as lost as the fmc did whilst reading this book, and when she felt like she had finally made a connection with fellow choir-goer and kiwi Colette, that relationship begins to stray from ideal too. I loved reading the random passages the main characters mind floated to, memories of her childhood and her expectations of life, and her reflections on where life actually took her.

temper is frustrating, real and raw in just 142 pages and I would definitely recommend it if you’ve ever considered yourself an expat.

bookstagram: @lilianisbooked

[johnny ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

a woman moves to the netherlands and experiences the loneliness of language barriers and an obsession with another woman named colette. subtle, but poignant, “temper” is an insight into one woman’s post-graduate life and the way she copes (or does not) with isolation.

this is a quick read, yet the story spans an entire year. spring, winter, autumn, and summer are the four brief sections of “temper.” throughout each season, more and more tension builds between the narrator and colette. they don’t even particularly enjoy each others’ company, yet they stick together in a cruel way. it was a slow start, but did become very, very interesting. i feel that it should have been elongated a bit and expanded upon. the brief moments of amazement are there, but fleeting.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight books for sending me a early release of this book!
The book spans a year divide into seasons, the main character has just moved abroad and freelances. The book is very introspective rather than plot heavy, the novel follows the narrators thoughts of loneliness and isolation as she navigates moving and finding her place in a foreign country. The main character is heavily reliant on her partners friends for company, eventually she meets Collette whom she is not particularly fond of but attempts to maintain a "friendship" with. The book reminds me a lot of the works and style of Rachel Cusk, where she is able to take the mundane domesticity of the everyday and make it into something thrilling and easily consumable for the reader.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this book had a purpose I have no idea what it was.

[advika · Rating 5 out of 5]

giving this 5 stars not bc it’s comparable to my other 5 star reads. it just really felt perfectly relevant and i read the whole thing on my flight back to new york. was just one long monologue/diary entry but don’t know the last time i read something where i related to every single thought. easy to read but also really made me think about the loneliness you feel in a big city, working a corporate job, & how you project this loneliness onto others and potential friendships. loved the writing so much, such great descriptions of weather and architecture and relating these to how the protagonist feels. happy i chose to pick this up! also super short

[Francesca Kilby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-paced novella that encourages you to self reflect. The language is beautiful while still accessible and it was also incredibly relatable. A very enjoyable short read.

[Rachel Mayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rlly enjoyed this :) super quick read, my only criticism is that I wish it was longer!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago, a friend asked me if I had any regrets. It was obviously a deep question but the fact that one thing came to mind immediately felt telling. And that one thing was that I'd not had the opportunity to live and work in another country. Pre-children, my husband and I had plans to do so, but 9/11 happened, which put an end to his company allowing secondments. Since that time, his work has bound him to Melbourne. But the regret, if you would call it that, was still there and so I'm hatching a plan for the future - it involves a sabbatical year in Germany, some study at a language school and a forest therapy course.

I was thinking about that plan when I read Phoebe Walker's novella, Temper. The story follows an unnamed narrator over the course of a year, having moved from London to the Netherlands. The narrator's partner works for a large multi-national organisation and his time in their new city is quickly furnished with after-work drinks and social gatherings with coworkers. The narrator, a freelance writer, spends her days in their flat and her few interactions are incidental (buying groceries or visiting the swimming pool). She feels on the periphery, never finding her place in her new home.

My spare hours do stack up aimlessly, slabs of white-walled afternoon spent topping up my water glass. 

In an attempt to make friends, she joins a choir. There she meets Colette, a pushy, opinionated New Zealander. Although she doesn't particularly like Colette, she is aware that she is not in a position to be choosy given she has so few connections. When another choir member warns the narrator to avoid Colette, her anxieties grow.

I wasn't used to confrontation and struggled at first to find its register.

Walker is a poet (Temper is her debut fiction) and it's evident in the lilt of her sentences.

Today we had a thunderstorm. I've rarely experienced a storm in the morning, before the bins have been taken, and I enjoy it, the early havoc of light and coarse rain.

But what I particularly enjoyed was the exploration of the inner-tensions experienced by the narrator - her efforts to integrate into life in the Netherlands clash with feelings of apathy and boredom.

It was hot today, the last gasp before the cooler weather sets in. I felt at a loss. I'd know how to feel in this weather at home, I think - what my plans would be, who they'd be with. Heat and light bring to mind yellow grass, hasty plans, swoops onto the chiller cabinets of express supermarkets... Here, I experienced the heat only as something physical, something practical. I changed my outfit, stuck my bare foot into a patch of sunlight on the sofa. There was nobody to call.

Additionally, she realises that much of what she was escaping in London, is replicated in the Netherlands, noting that their choice of destination was '...the tamest and most tepid flight we could have made.'

It's impressive that a story about boredom and loneliness can be as engrossing as Temper was. There are parts that are unsettling, and Walker uses an element of suspense to highlight moments when the narrator questions her own judgement.

I received my copy of Temper from the publisher, Fairlight Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 I devoured this book in almost one sitting - note it down for Novella November!

[Ellie (ellofthebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight Books for sending me this advanced copy for review.

Temper is essentially the narrator’s inner thoughts following her recent move to the Netherlands with her partner, a move which is triggered by her partner’s job. We never learn the narrator’s name yet I felt so connected with her and her inner thoughts. She doesn’t find socialising as easy as those around her and we join her on an awkward journey navigating her new life and desperate need to belong.

Phoebe Walker does a truly stunning job at portraying the strange frustration between wanting to fit in yet wanting to keep others at a distance. The story really made me think about how much we associate our ‘purpose’ with how others perceive us. The narrator here struggles with feeling like she doesn’t have a purpose, purely because other people don’t seem to need her or crave her attention as much as she craves theirs.

I usually don’t enjoy books where nothing significant happens, but I got through Temper in one sitting and it’s definitely one I’d recommend for 2023!

[Janina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reading experience reminded me of The Hungover Games: A True Story in that I read the first lines, liked them, bought the book and then realized it didn't work for me. Seperated, I liked the writing, but followed by one another, over and over again, it just gets very overdone/ muddled/ hollow. I would probably call it something like 'mundane unhappiness', which I would categorize as a sub-genre of the 'unhinged, depressed women' genre. It's not a bad book but I just didn't enjoy it much.

tw/cw: lying, unhealthy behavior, mutual toxic friendship

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 70%.

[layla]

dnf. made it to 50% but if i read even one more page i fear i might die of boredom

[sez 🤍 · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you NetGalley and Fairlight Books for sending me my very first arc!

in temper we follow a young woman and her move to the netherlands for her boyfriend’s job. as someone who lives in the netherlands, it was very interesting to see the main character struggling to navigate her way in this country and her troubles in making real connections as a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language.

at times Walker has managed to perfectly capture the way i feel and put it down in words i couldn’t describe for myself. but overall, the plot was lacking a bit too much for me. i generally love books with “no plot”, but with temper i also found it difficult to get to know the characters which made a lot of pages, despite the good writing, feel unnecessary. temper is a short book, not longer than 200 pages, but because there aren’t a lot of interesting moments happening, it took me quite long to finish.

[Keyreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Temper by Phoebe Walker

This debut novella is about a young woman and her mundane year in The Netherlands. The unnamed narrator relocates from the UK with her boyfriend and lives the most boring and socially awkward existence I have ever read. She does not speak the language and has no desire to learn. Her social anxieties prevent her from forming any real attachments. Her obsession with spending time with a woman she does not like only increases the reader’s frustration. I may never recover from my on temper while reading this one. Definitely a hard pass. I would not recommend.

[Alexa Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Temper follows a young woman who moves to the Netherlands for her partner's job. Whilst there, she keeps a record of her burgeoning sense of loneliness, her inability to make real connections there, and her ongoing sense of dislocation and placelessness. The only "friendship" she has managed to curate is with an unendingly strange woman named Collette, whom the narrator suspects is a prolific liar. Written as a chaotic stream of consciousness and underlying feminine rage, Temper addresses the malleability of self-identity and the everyday trials of living with yourself in a bingeable and relatable way.

It's clear from reading this novel that Walker is a poet. Her sentences are lyrical and loaded with a tactile imagery that is rare in literature. Reading this book was a rich experience, and I felt myself getting lost in the narrator's head. I also adored the narrator's relationship with her boyfriend, Robin. Even while she is struggling not to fall into the housewife stereotype that is being pressed upon her due to the free time afforded by her freelancing business, she is supportive of Robin's endeavors. In turn, he is supportive of her, and sweetly grabs her hand in public whenever he senses she needs reassurance (a detail I thought was very cute). When everything around her seems to come into question, her relationship with Robin doesn't.

This book was a little too "no plot just vibes" for me, and there's really no other way for me to put it. I liked reading it, but some paragraphs would just wind endlessly towards nowhere and I found my faith wavering that it would be worth finishing. Even now that I have finished it, I know it isn't the kind of book I would recommend to everyone. While it's short (under 200 pages) it reads slowly, and requires an attention that it doesn't always warrant.

Altogether though, I loved the cerebral, esoteric feel of this novel. The parts I found drawn out constituted only small portions of the book as a whole, which I genuinely enjoyed. If you enjoy character studies of unreliable narrators and stories about unhinged women, this novel is a gripping and unique take!

[Umut Erdoğan (Kareler ve Sayfalar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

instagram: karelervesayfalar

A young woman who has no connection to life other than the beautiful memories of the past. She leaves her life in England behind to move to the Netherlands, where her boyfriend has started a new job. And she cannot make a connection in her new life or the new city she has started living in. She cannot make friends, she cannot have an ordinary conversation with anyone other than the superficial conversations she has with her boyfriend's workmates. There is no one who shares her interests. In fact, I think she does not share anything with her boyfriend either. She is stuck in such a routine and rootless life that she constantly experiences anxiety.

At that time, she meets Colette. The young immigrant woman she meets in a choir is not someone she would want to be close to. In fact, she is a very uncanny and suspicious character. We see the alienation of the narrator character and the artificiality of the relationship she has with her surroundings in her relationship with Colette. It is like an obsession. When she realizes that there is no one around her, the narrator character starts to get close to Colette, but her approach to the threat, Colette's deceit and insincerity increase more and more.

There is nothing in her life other than longing for the past. Her life is not going anywhere. Our narrator is deceiving herself. She even accepts the lies told to her.

Temper tells how nihilism, which has become a global problem in our time, has turned into a black hole through a woman's view, with a sincere plot. Once upon a time, I lived with a similar nothingness; I only missed the past and was disconnected from my work and my surroundings every passing day.

a beautiful short novel.

[Amy Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temper by Phoebe Walker, documents the innermost thoughts of a nameless young woman who has moved to the Netherlands to support her partner’s career. Whilst her partner goes to work, the narrator works from home as a freelancer, she finds herself with a lot of free time, which leads to her feeling lonely, disconnected and uprooted. In an attempt to counteract these feelings, she joins a choir, where she meets Colette. The narrator strikes up an unusual relationship with Colette; a woman who she doesn’t particularly like and who initially bombards her with so many messages that it feels unwholesome. As the story progresses the narrator finds herself obsessing over Colette and analysing their interactions, this coincides with the narrator’s growing anxieties about her own place and purpose.

I really enjoyed Walker's exploration of loneliness, by using a stream of consciousness narrative she was able to convey the suffocation and disconnection that the narrator shifts between. I also found Walker’s writing to be very astute and I found myself relating to the experience of loneliness and the awkwardness of trying to build new friendships as an adult. In fact the book is peppered with so many sharp observations about modern life.

Although the meandering thoughts of the narrator are part of the plot, I did sometimes struggle to keep up with them and found myself rereading parts, to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

Temper is a well written and relatable book, it is definitely worth a read, especially if you enjoy books about female outsiders, trying to find their place in the world.

Thank-you NetGalley and Fairlight Books for providing me with this ARC.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is effectively a series of vignettes which document the unnamed narrator’s internal monologue and her fairly inconsequential outings in the Dutch city she has recently moved to with her boyfriend. She is very isolated and has a sense of general detachment and malaise throughout almost the entire book which occasionally made it quite hard to get through. The narrator frequently laments her difficulty forming connections with other people and she reflects upon instances in her past which echo this. She develops a sort-of obsession with a woman she dislikes called Collette and this aspect of the story was interesting though I wish this had been fleshed out a little more.

Some aspects of this book felt very relatable and there were passages which I adored but other parts I found totally uninteresting, so it was a bit of a mixed bag overall. Continuing that theme, at points I thought the writing was absolutely sublime, but at others I found the writing to be a bit laboured. I do think I will check out the author’s poetry as perhaps her writing style will suit me better in a shorter form.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Irene Brouwer · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Considering this book was only 90 pages (at least on my laptop), this felt very long and unnecessary. Whilst I definitely recognised and empathised with a lot of what the unnamed main character felt, in terms of loneliness and disconnection (as I too have lived abroad), she did not particularly lend herself to being liked or befriended.

It was frustrating to read her half-hearted attempts to make friends, though she seemed to be attempting to in all the wrong places. Her interactions with Colette were odd, though once again it reminded me of my own life, and a friendship I have which always seems to have strange undertones of competition, and I especially identified with that feeling that the other person is only interested in themselves and never quite listens or asks any questions...

Overall though, my main issue with this book is the utter pretentiousness of the writing. All too often it veered from well-written to entirely over-written, with so many unnecessary metaphors and synonyms when plain English would have been much more effective.

[Holly F · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very human, very real portrayal of loneliness. I’ve moved around a lot and I totally get the weariness of it all, the effort to start again and keep positive about it. And that’s moving domestically, let alone internationally.

There were many moments where Walker exactly articulated thoughts and feelings I’ve had in a way I’ve never been able to express.

I liked the storyline with Colette, a metaphor for the lies we tell ourselves and others; how are the narrators lies really that different to Colette’s? But at times it did feel like it was teasing the plot being more sinister - the following home and googling the boyfriend - because the stream of concussions wasn’t terribly gripping.

Any longer and I think it would have dragged on a little because the prose was at times so dense. You can tell Walker is a great writer, but sometimes the long paragraphs with allegories and metaphors that jumped around were hard to follow and stay focused on. Especially when my eyes would roam to the next paragraph and see Colette’s name and I’d want to jump to that storyline.

With the atmosphere she built up around Colette, I’d love to see Walker try her hand at a horror or thriller novel.

[Amy Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Temper follows a woman who moves to the Netherlands with her partner and struggles with feelings of isolation and loneliness. After a choir class she attends only once, she becomes obsessed with a woman named Colette and tries to make a friendship out of a cold and toxic acquaintance.

This book didn’t have much of a plot, but the beautiful writing and the tense relationship between the narrator and Colette made this incredibly addictive to read. Being inside the narrator’s head turned the everyday minutiae of ordinary life into something intensely thrilling and unforgettable. It’s painfully relatable and really shows the impact feeling isolated can have, with the passing of time from chapter to chapter amplifying this.

Such an amazing novel and one I’ll definitely be recommending!

[Bob Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our central character in Temper is floating through life (and the streets of her new adopted home of the Netherlands), and does not seem to be able to truly breakthrough.

She does not have close friends, only fleeting glimmers of interactions with people she does not like- chief among them Colette- another expat and a serial liar. And so life floats on, disappointingly for our main character, but as she floats, there is a sense of this tense and mysterious world existing just out of reach, with thoughtful reflections on the ways we build up cities and other countries as the means of escape and promise, when we ultimately have to take our whole selves there regardless.

I found the writing of this cleverly subtle and supple- pauses allowing more to be said beneath the surface.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharmila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman new to the Netherlands observes the intricacies of her day. Spanning over the four seasons, this debut novel does well in reflecting the nuances of our daily lives, what it is like to try and fit in, especially in a foreign country, and the pressures we feel to be significant.

The narrator becomes infatuated with a woman, and although not particularly liking her, finds herself preoccupied with thoughts of her. Desperate for companionship and a sense of belonging in a new country, the narrator makes herself wholly relatable.

Not much really happens in the novel and some parts could have been more fleshed out. Although the novel is over the course of a year, it is very short.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Fairlight Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Déwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut novel is by English poet, Phoebe Walker. It's a short novel, described by Walker as a 'fragmented story about dislocation, purpose, and belonging.' There is no story plot but more an everyday narrative of living in a new city and the isolation that can bring.

While it's a short read I found it an intense read, perhaps because the nameless narrator's experience is one that resonates. I didn't enjoy it but I appreciated the writing and could not ignore the feelings the words evoked.

If you enjoy the art of words, you will enjoy this. Walker is able to describe a feeling so acutely, you feel it too.

Thanks to #netgalley and @fairlightbooks for the e-arc in return for an honest review.

[Sofie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. Temper by Phoebe Walker is a contemporary novel about a nameless woman trying to form friendships and connections after moving to the Netherlands with her partner. I was initially very intrigued by the premise, but ultimately, I felt that the novel fell flat to me. It was a little tedious at times. BUT, there were a few quotes that really resonated with me, and I felt that the author did a good job at depicting the mc's loneliness. It was almost as if you could feel it seeping from the pages. You really feel that distance from the mc and how that distance has affected her relationships in life. Overall, it's not a bad book, but I kind of wish there was more substance to it.

[Subhiksha]

Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. I really wanted to like this. It’s one of those “quiet” books but it was quiet in all the wrong ways for me. I started reading it a few times before I got past page ten and then again found it really difficult to cross the forty pages mark and the book is only 90 pages long!!!!!! 😭 I really wanted to like this and I thought it was going to be quiet relatable in certain ways as I was also working from home for the longest time but sadly nope. I decided to dnf it and I couldn’t force it anymore. It is one of those times when it’s a me problem and not the book🤷🏻‍♀️

[Emma Linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just another woman-being-obsessive story; and, predictably, I liked it. It didn’t do anything new but it kept me engaged enough. The book didn’t turn strange/weird (more than the regular oddities that comes with obsession), which I wasn’t expecting per se, but that might have enhanced my enjoyment of the book. Also, the narrator’s (Melissa Vaughan) Kiwi accent had me enthralled (can’t speak on the accuracy of it but it was VERY satisfying to listen to). ps. Seldomly do I think my enjoyment of a book is determined to the way I consumed it, but I do think listening to this one made it easier for me to get through it, so maybe give the audio a go instead of physically reading this one