The Elevator - Softcover

Ramsingh, Priya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1990293816 ISBN 13: 9781990293818

Publisher: Palimpsest Press, 2024

Synopsis

Aria Ramdeen is learning to love herself — and her favourite foods again. No guilt, no toxic boyfriend. Rob Anderson is recently divorced, and living life as a single guy, while tending to the scars from his marriage. Both live in the same condo building where they've crossed paths in the elevator many times. But neither has had the courage to connect. Then one day, they match on a dating app. But are they ready to meet? Set in the Toronto, The Elevator is an entertaining modern story of two people from different back­grounds who are on a journey of self discovery, looking for love in a big city.

About this title

About the Author

Priya Ramsingh is a writer, and photographer. Her debut novel, Brown Girl in the Room, was published by Tightrope Books. (2017). Her short story, Pies for Lunch, was shortlisted for best short fiction in 2021, by The Caribbean Writer. She is a former reporter and diversity columnist for Metroland Media and continues to write op-eds for the Toronto Star. In her spare time, Priya is a wildlife photographer and naturalist. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Ramsingh now lives in Toronto.

From the Back Cover

Aria Ramdeen is learning to love herself--and her favourite foods--again. No guilt, no toxic boyfriend. Full of newfound confidence, she subscribes to LoveInTO, a Toronto-based dating website, where she's matched with a crush she's had for years: the attractive light-haired man who lives in her building. Aria messages him on the app, but there's no response, leaving her quite embarrassed.

Rob Anderson, who's recently divorced, secretly admires Aria. He just lacks the confidence to approach her. And since he's let his LoveInTO subscription lapse, he doesn't see Aria's message. Suddenly, Aria seems guarded when they run into one another, and the pair endure months of long, awkward silences together in the elevator. Until one day, Rob decides to give the app another chance and subscribes again.

A fresh and entertaining modern story of two people from different backgrounds who find each other despite the pitfalls of dating technology, opinions from friends and family, and their own personal trauma. The Elevator will leave readers feeling hopeful about love, food and life in a big city.

Reviews

One of the elevators was broken. Again. Aria leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, tasting the staleness in her mouth–the kind of taste that happens when your stomach is filled with air and nothing else. Hungry breath. She opened one eye and peeked at the buttons on the wall. The one she had pushed to go up was lit up in red, and upside down. Now both arrows pointed downward. Maybe it was a sign. 

The miserable wait seemed in sync with of the rest of her miserable day. Aria closed her eyes and relived the incident at work between her co-workers. Lindsay, still upset at not getting the promotion she wanted, had kept mispronouncing Aman’s name during the afternoon meeting. 

Aman, who’d started a couple of weeks ago and got the job that Lindsay wanted, said her name was short for Amandeep, a unisex Punjabi name, which made sense to Aria since the only other Amandeep she knew had been in her grade three class and he’d worn a Patka. But funny how she couldn’t picture his face–just the traditional Sikh head covering for boys.

Aria pushed aside the thoughts and shifted her focus to the upside of her day, which was sitting inside a paper bag clutched in her hand, brushing up against her thigh, warm through the paper. Hopefully it would stay that way until she got up to her apartment on the 17th floor. Woody’s burgers were the only ones she would allow herself to eat, and her last presentation of the day had been a short distance from the burger joint on the busy Lakeshore corner. It meant fighting through evening traffic, but there was no way she could be in the close proximity to the place without stopping in. 

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

One of the elevators was broken. Again. Aria leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, tasting the staleness in her mouth–the kind of taste that happens when your stomach is filled with air and nothing else. Hungry breath. She opened one eye and peeked at the buttons on the wall. The one she had pushed to go up was lit up in red, and upside down. Now both arrows pointed downward. Maybe it was a sign.

The miserable wait seemed in sync with of the rest of her miserable day. Aria closed her eyes and relived the incident at work between her co-workers. Lindsay, still upset at not getting the promotion she wanted, had kept mispronouncing Aman’s name during the afternoon meeting.

Aman, who’d started a couple of weeks ago and got the job that Lindsay wanted, said her name was short for Amandeep, a unisex Punjabi name, which made sense to Aria since the only other Amandeep she knew had been in her grade three class and he’d worn a Patka. But funny how she couldn’t picture his face–just the traditional Sikh head covering for boys.

Aria pushed aside the thoughts and shifted her focus to the upside of her day, which was sitting inside a paper bag clutched in her hand, brushing up against her thigh, warm through the paper. Hopefully it would stay that way until she got up to her apartment on the 17th floor. Woody’s burgers were the only ones she would allow herself to eat, and her last presentation of the day had been a short distance from the burger joint on the busy Lakeshore corner. It meant fighting through evening traffic, but there was no way she could be in the close proximity to the place without stopping in.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palimpsest Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1990293816
• ISBN 13: 9781990293818
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 184