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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Calls May Be Recorded
Critic Reviews
Great
Based on 3 reviews on
Calls May Be Recorded is 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.
Book Details
- Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
- Publish Date: Sep 16th, 2025
- Pages: 166
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 7.32in - 5.70in - 0.55in - 0.31lb
- EAN: 9781953387943
- Categories: • Humorous - Dark Humor• Satire• World Literature - Europe (General)
About the Author
Volckmer, Katharina: - Katharina Volckmer was born in Germany in 1987. She now lives in London where she works for a literary agency. Her first novel The Appointment has been translated into over 15 languages and has been adapted for the stage and radio in several countries.
Critics’ reviews
Praise for this book
"Volckmer's prose is electric, and as she skillfully unearths moments of tenderness, even ecstasy, amid the sweat and stench of abjection, she ensures this brief book lingers past its pages. A raucous, gutting workplace novel."
--Kirkus Reviews
--Eley Williams, author of Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good "This book reminds us of why we love Volckmer. She is a true iconoclast. Her work is a hand grenade thrown against the falsities of good taste."
--Carlos Fonseca, author of Austral "The writing is agile . . . the sub-text contains more social criticism than at first meets the eye. It's a truculent novel which takes full responsibility for itself."
--Vogue France "Iconoclastic, derisive and scatological. It could have been puerile if it were not written so intelligently, with such perfection."
--Echo "Katharina Volckmer has created an unforgettable, ultra-contemporary personality."
--Lire "The author plunges her pen, as funny as it is fierce, into a perfect microcosm, containing all the vices of our sad modern world. It leaves behind stains and a nasty smell, but it bubbles with great spirit."
--Focus Vif "The reader frequently giggles at this satire whose irreverence and sweet madness reminds us of Shalom Auslander."
--Libération "A funny, acerbic, and filter-free portrait of the world of work and contemporary vacuities."
--Page
--Ian McEwan "In a furious comic monologue to her gynecologist, the German-born narrator of this debut novel riffs on national shame, family secrets, sex and more with a disregard for propriety worthy of Alexander Portnoy."
--New York Times Book Review "The most audacious novel I have read in years. It's both vagina monologue and virtuoso performance...horribly funny and shockingly good...if the best writing takes a risk, this is Russian roulette."
--Frances Wilson, Times Literary Supplement
--Kirkus Reviews
"Katharina Volckmer's jokes are always consequential, and her novel ends up saying much that is profound about work and isolation and capitalist estrangement."
--Lily Isaacs, Times Literary Supplement
"High on slapstick and low on humanity, this novel will make you feel."
--The Irish Times
"Calls May be Recorded further cements Volckmer's prowess as a comic writer. She has a remarkable ability to tread the line between audacity and brilliance. Refreshingly, she isn't afraid to be provocative with her jokes."
--Barry Pierce, Big Issue
"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
--Eley Williams, author of Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good "This book reminds us of why we love Volckmer. She is a true iconoclast. Her work is a hand grenade thrown against the falsities of good taste."
--Carlos Fonseca, author of Austral "The writing is agile . . . the sub-text contains more social criticism than at first meets the eye. It's a truculent novel which takes full responsibility for itself."
--Vogue France "Iconoclastic, derisive and scatological. It could have been puerile if it were not written so intelligently, with such perfection."
--Echo "Katharina Volckmer has created an unforgettable, ultra-contemporary personality."
--Lire "The author plunges her pen, as funny as it is fierce, into a perfect microcosm, containing all the vices of our sad modern world. It leaves behind stains and a nasty smell, but it bubbles with great spirit."
--Focus Vif "The reader frequently giggles at this satire whose irreverence and sweet madness reminds us of Shalom Auslander."
--Libération "A funny, acerbic, and filter-free portrait of the world of work and contemporary vacuities."
--Page
Praise for Katharina Volckmer
"Katharina Volckmer is a wild new talent."
--Joshua Cohen
--Ian McEwan "In a furious comic monologue to her gynecologist, the German-born narrator of this debut novel riffs on national shame, family secrets, sex and more with a disregard for propriety worthy of Alexander Portnoy."
--New York Times Book Review "The most audacious novel I have read in years. It's both vagina monologue and virtuoso performance...horribly funny and shockingly good...if the best writing takes a risk, this is Russian roulette."
--Frances Wilson, Times Literary Supplement