Temper, Temper

Lynne Perras teaches communication arts at the University of Calgary.

To call Temper, Temper a strange book would be an understatement. There
is no conventional narrative. Rather, the book is a collection of crude
drawings, black-and-white photographs, quotations from sources ranging
from Robert de Niro and Ted Hughes to Andy Warhol and Isak Dinesen,
photocopies of typewritten letters, pictures of household appliances,
and doodles over all of the above. The “narrator” or compiler of
this print version of performance art is variously depressed, bitter,
confused, and vulnerable, though capable of occasional bursts of
kindness, humor, and strength.

The overarching theme appears to be the victimization of women in our
shallow consumer society, which cherishes physical beauty and the
acquisition of material goods above all else. The themes of friendship,
self-esteem, and sexuality are touched on, as are relationships with
men, which come across mostly as violent, bleak, or one-sided. The title
Temper, Temper might refer to the angry reaction one has to such a world
and at the same time the necessity of not expressing that anger.

This provocative and unsettling book has much to offer any reader who
is not put off by its bizarre nature.