Temporary (Emily Books)

Temporary (Emily Books)

In Temporary, a young woman?s workplace is the size of the world. She fills increasingly bizarre placements in search of steadiness, connection, and something, at last, to call her own. Whether it?s shining an endless closet of shoes, swabbing the deck of a pirate ship, assisting an assassin, or filling in for the Chairman of the Board, for the mythical Temporary, ?there is nothing more personal than doing your job.??his riveting quest, at once hilarious and profound, will resonate with anyone who has ever done their best at work, even when the work is only temporary.ReviewPublishers Weekly, ?Best Books of 2020?Chicago Tribune, ?Books to Read in Winter 2020?Literary Hub, ?Most ?Most Anticipated Books of 2020?Bustle, ?Must-Read Books of 2020?Thrillist, ?Best Books of 2020?Tor.com, ?Best Books of 2020??Leichter?s funny, absurdist debut cleverly explores a capitalist society taken to a dreamlike extreme . . . her cutting, hilarious critique of the American dream will appeal to fans of Italo Calvino.? -Publisher's Weekly, starred review?A young temp searches for permanence in Leichter?s whimsically surreal fable of late-stage capitalism. . . . clever and strange and, in the end, unexpectedly hopeful, less a biting gig-economy satire than a wistful 21st-century myth. A dreamy meditation on how we construct who we are.? -Kirkus?A brisk, wildly imaginative first novel. . . . Leichter?s deeper interest is in mining how transient, insecure work inflects our private life-if it even permits a private life. Can we afford to stop working? Do we remember how?? -New York Times?Chances are you've never read a workplace novel like Hilary Leichter?s. The author takes numbing routines to dreamy (or perhaps nightmarish) extremes, delivering subversive entertainment in the process.? -Entertainment Weekly?A more whimsical Halle Butler novel . . . refreshingly original.? -Chicago Tribune?[A] delirious and deeply humane satire. . . . Temporary has the manic, goofing energy of a lounge act.? -Wall Street Journal?[A] surreal extreme of gig economy slacker fiction. . . . Leichter?s novel is emotionally convincing not just because of its narrative, but because of the linguistic dislocation that proves its premise. Language flips like it?s about to fall off the edge of the world.? -Guernica?Leichter?s narrator, like so many of us, finds herself clinging to the American Dream, despite all modern evidence that we may be out of its reach. Whether it?s the immutability of this quest or our enduring national history that makes this story feel timeless, it?s Leichter?s nimble, singular prose that makes Temporary come alive in our own.? -The Believer?A Calvino-esque critique of the American Dream, in which the main character takes on ever-stranger job placements, from work on a pirate ship to sitting on the board of a corporation to shining an endless closet of shoes. We could honestly use a little absurdist humor in the face of late-capitalism?s ubiquitous predations.?-Literary Hub?In this fever dream of a novel, a young woman navigates the impermanence and forced intimacy of life as a professional temp . . . A potent and ethereal look at late capitalism for the young professional. Perfect for fans of Severance by Ling Ma.? -Booklist?The near-farcical chaos of the gig economy is explored in this story of a young woman?s journey through a series of increasingly wild job placements, from shining shoes to swabbing the deck of a pirate ship. (Not to judge a book by its cover, but this one gets extra points for the coolest jacket we?ve seen in a while.)?-Vogue?Temporary has garnered critical acclaim in all the right places-and it?s well-deserved. . . . Leichter succeeds in creating a space for wonder and tenderness in an anxiety-inducing job market. Her unorthodox narrative and whimsical writing push you across the page. Reading Temporary is like discovering the origin myth of the gig economy.?-Interview?Temporary s