Your Driver Is Waiting

by Priya Guns

Penguin Canada

Your Driver Is Waiting

by Priya Guns

Penguin Canada

In this electrifyingly fierce and funny social satire— a gender-flipped reboot of the iconic 1970’s film “Taxi Driver”—a ride share driver is barely holding it together on the hunt for love, dignity and financial security . . . until she decides she’s done waiting.

“A ferocious new voice. A fierce and immersive debut.” —Weike Wang, author of Joan is Okay and Chemistry

Damani is tired. Her father just died on the job at a fast food joint, and now she lives paycheck to paycheck in a basement, caring for her mom and driving for an app that is constantly cutting her take. The city is roiling in protests –everybody’s in solidarity with somebody– but while she keeps hearing that they’re fighting for change on behalf of people like her, she literally can’t afford to pay attention.

Then she gives a ride to Jolene (5 stars, obviously). Jolene seems like she could be the perfect girlfriend – attentive, attractive, an ally – and their chemistry is off the charts. Jolene’s done the reading, she goes to every protest, and she says all the right things. So maybe Damani can look past the one thing that’s holding her back: She’s never dated anyone with money before, not to mention a white girl with money. But just as their romance intensifies and Damani finally lets her guard down, Jolene does something unforgivable, setting off an explosive chain of events.

A wild, one-sitting read brimming with dark comedy, and piercing social commentary and announcing Priya Guns’ feverishly original voice, Your Driver Is Waiting is a crackling send-up of our culture of modern alienation.

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This book may also be available at the TIFA Festival Bookstore.

Priya Guns is a writer and actor from Scarborough, currently based in the UK. Her previous work has been published in Spring Magazine Canada, the Guardian and gal-dem. Before spending most of her time writing, Priya was a geography teacher and arts education organiser with experience in Sri Lanka, Palestine and Turkey. Your Driver is Waiting is her debut novel and has received praise from outlets such as The New York Times, LA Times, Vogue, Rolling Stone Magazine and the Toronto Star. Priya’s latest short story ‘G-Spots in Geology’ will be published in October through Somesuch Stories.

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