Calls May Be Recorded, Katharina Volckmer
Calls May Be Recorded, Katharina Volckmer
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Calls May Be Recorded
A Novel

Author: Katharina Volckmer

Narrator: Jonathan Johns

Unabridged: 3 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/10/2026


Synopsis

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.

About Katharina Volckmer

Katharina Volckmer was born in Germany in 1987. She now lives in London where she works for a literary agency. The Appointment is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Maddie on February 13, 2026

Confusing, disorienting, disgustingly erotic, freakish, disturbing, and weird enough to kill a small Victorian child. 10/10, an absolute hoot. Thank you to Two Dollar Radio for my ARC. I will cherish it forever.......more

Goodreads review by ☆LaurA☆ on May 17, 2025

Dell'autrice avevo letto "un cazzo ebreo" ed ero rimasta piacevolmente colpita da come gestiva alcuni temi, dal suo modo di raccontare, un flusso continuo, senza interruzioni, quasi soffocante. Così, quando ho visto la nuova copertina accattivante, mi sono messa le cuffie del call center ed ho ascol......more

Goodreads review by . . . _ _ _ . . . on March 23, 2025

Queer υπέρβαρος Ιταλός μετανάστης που ζει με την μητέρα του, εργάζεται σε γραμμή παραπόνων εταιρίας που προσφέρει διακοπές σε πολυτελή θέρετρα και ακούει τα first world problems ξιπασμενων τουριστων ανά τον κόσμο. Φυσικά για πολλοστή φορά έπεσα στην παγίδα της Γλειφω και πηρα το βιβλίο (ευτυχώς seco......more

Goodreads review by ritareadthat on September 17, 2025

4.5 Stars Sharp, witty, gritty, unseemly, foul, ludicrous, blatantly absurd, line-crossing, genre-crossing, cross-dressing, thoughtful, bold, sad, uproarious, satirical, oh-no-she-really-didn't-just-go-there, entertaining, preposterous, engaging, indecent, memorable, relatable, ambiguous, amoral, tho......more

Goodreads review by Charlotte on January 25, 2024

ABSOLUTELY. NOTHING. HAPPENS. I couldn't get past the 102 page because in the first half of the book, nothing happens. Nothing. We just get pages after pages of internal monologue of probably the most boring character ever existed. Even in 'the stranger' by Camus where the character is quite monotono......more