Temper by Layne Fargo

This was recommended to me by Amazon.  I felt it was in keeping with my summer of girl power in featuring two strong female leads, so I bought it.  It has mostly 4 and 5 star reviews.

My review: eh.

So here's the premise: A small theater company in Chicago is putting on a play called Temper.  The main characters (in the play) are a what seem to be a fairly normal husband and wife, but the wife is pregnant and recently took the pills to induce an abortion.  He finds out, they fight.  In the play, the audience is not supposed to know what is her imagination and what is real.  She's teetering on the brink of mental breakdown. 

K.

Now here's where it gets weird.  Kira, the actress playing the female lead, and Joanna, the stage manager, are both in this "is this real or imagination" state.  They both seem to imagine things, act out responses in a fantasy world, then do something completely opposite in the real world.  They have the same circle of friends, but didn't know each other before Kira's audition, or did they?  Joanna randomly hooks up with Kira's ex while her roommate hooks up with the lead from Joanna's last play.  Lot of coincidence.  Oh and there's Malcolm, the director and lead male actor who is total jerk.  Or is that just the way Kira and/or Joanna want us to think? 

I. Was. So. Confused.

Then the ending was...well, predictable.  I saw it coming way in advance.

I also felt I'd read this theme of mental illness and play within another story thing before....oh, yeah, that Hamlet guy. And the "my anger made me do it!"...Anakin Skywalker whining came out of Kira a LOT.

I really thought I was going to like this, but after finishing it, I'm still not sure what was real and what either Kira's or Joanna's imagination.

So, a no from me.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.