The Payback - by Kashana Cauley (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"A dark comedy on the friendship and resourcefulness of three Black women who plan a caper to erase everyone's debts. Engaging, emotional, and entertaining."--Boston Globe, Best Books of Summer

"In Cauley's timely and playful novel, three retail co-workers-turned-friends hatch a plot to wipe out student loan debt. From bonding over their distrust of the debt police to carrying out their daring scheme, the trio's story reads like a delightful heist movie. (Actually, Hollywood, if you're listening: Snap this one up)." --Bustle, Most Anticipated Books of Summer

"Timely and riotous...[The Payback] delivers outstandingly on this spectacular premise. Cauley's prose sings, snappy and clever, painting a picture of a world that feels at the same time utterly absurd and chillingly close at hand."--CrimeReads

"This is a winner, especially for millennials eager to burn their loan documents." --Booklist

"Cauley burnishes her page-turner with shrewd commentary on the debt burden placed on first-generation college students. It's a knockout." --Publishers Weekly

"The Payback is as shady, cunning, and wickedly fun as its gimlet-eyed narrator. It describes - like nothing else - an America drowning in cheap merch and dipping FICA scores, the endless want of living here. Luigi, save us. We know not what we've done." --Danzy Senna, author of Colored Television

"Could this novel be any more timely or more delightful? Delicious, fabulist and cuttingly insightful about the current moment, The Payback is Moonstruck meets heist movie, true fun with real teeth. We will all be reading Cauley for many years to come." --Rufi Thrope, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles

PRAISE FOR THE PAYBACK

"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


"In an Afrofuturist world of barbaric debt police and an absurd heist to bring it all down, The Payback is a delightfully dark comedy of three coworkers-turned-conspirators hell-bent on revenge. This trio of Robin Hoods taking matters into their own hands out of grief and desperation will have you alternating between raucous laughs and fear for their safety. California strip malls, 80s fashion, punk and hacker culture, all combine in a tenacious cocktail of sweet justice shared by all." --Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last

"An exciting and hilarious heist novel that centers down-on-their-luck older millennials who are riddled with debt and decide to take matters into their own hands to dismantle the system. Timely and witty, Cauley's plotting, prose, and character development will keep you hooked from start to finish." --Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be Undoing

About the Author

Kashana Cauley is the author of The Payback and The Survivalists, which was named a best book of 2023 by the BBC, Today, Vogue, and more. Cauley is also a television writer, having worked on The Great North, Pod Save America on HBO, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and more. Find out more at KashanaCauley.com.