The Elevator

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. 

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.

ISBN: 9781990293818
Format: Paperback
Pages: 184
Publisher: Palimpsest Press
Published: October 15, 2024

The Elevator is a romance for the real world—Aria and Rob share a look and an attraction, but their lives are complicated, and connection doesn't come easy. The world doesn't pause for a look, though they—and we—wish it would. The Elevator is a warm, thoughtful, realistic novel of all the things that hold us back from love—everything from trauma and tough parents to bad timing—but also the kind friends, humour, and hamburgers that sustain us in the search for a partner. Love comes for Rob and Aria the way it does for most of us--in the middle of everything else.— Rebecca Rosenblum, These Days are Numbered, So Much LoveIn The Elevator, Ramsingh crafts a poignant portrayal of the weariness of the modern dating world, steeped with missed opportunities, misguided intimacy, and a complex relationship with food. Brimming with vivid sensory details, Ramsingh centers a cast of characters both earnest and vulnerable in this engaging, compulsively readable story.—Deepa Rajagopalan, Peacocks of InstagramPriya Ramsingh's superpower as a novelist is the ability to create authentic and empathetic characters. She did it with Brown Girl in the Room and now with The Elevator. I found myself rooting for Aria and Rob. I cringed as they tried to navigate the world of dating apps, agonized over bad dates and self doubt and then I eagerly awaited the next chance encounter. — Scott Colby, best-selling author and opinion page editor at the Toronto Star