“Riotous – and righteous.”—Vanity Fair
Description
When Jada Williams is relentlessly pursued by the Debt Police, she is left with no choice but to take down her student loan company with the help of two mall coworkers—from the author of the “lethally witty” (The New York Times Book Review) The Survivalists.
Jada Williams is good at judging people by their looks. From across the mall, she can tell not only someone’s inseam and pants size, but exactly what style they need to transform their life. Too bad she’s no longer using this superpower as a wardrobe designer to Hollywood stars, but for minimum wage plus commission at the Glendale mall.
When Jada is fired yet again, she is forced to outrun the newly instated Debt Police, who are out for blood. But Jada, like any great antihero, is not going to wait for the cops to come kick her around. With the help of two other debt-burdened mall coworkers, she hatches a plan for revenge. Together, the three women plan a heist to erase their student loans forever and get back at the system that promised them everything and then tried to take it back.
“A novel of great fun and unforgettable fury” (Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning), The Payback is a razor-sharp and hilarious dissection of race, power, and the daily grind, from one of the most original and exciting writers at work today.
Reviews
“For all that it deals with systemic racism and economic precarity, The Payback is a terrifically fun book that made me laugh out loud at least once every chapter.” —The Los Angeles Times
“A twisted, cathartic romp…There’s an undercurrent of Luigi Mangione-like disquiet in this story: We’re rooting for the brave antihero, the political martyr, the rebel with a rightful cause.”—The New York Times Book Review
New York Times 31 Novels to Read This Summer
“A novel of great fun and unforgettable fury, The Payback sharply questions the punitive systems we live within, the contradiction between social wellbeing and individual wellness, and what it means to work toward a decent life.” —Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning
