The Cab Driver
Arrêtez-moi là
Foreign Sales: Germany (Deuticke), Italy (E/O), USA (Europa Editions)
Since he gave up installing windows, Jeff, a thirty-year-old from Dallas, has been working as a cab driver. He likes his job and does it well. On his days off, he does his wash at the local laundromat, reads instructive books, and has a few beers with his pals. A quiet life… The day the police break into his house and take him into custody as the prime suspect in the abduction of a little girl, he doesn’t get overly worried, sure that it’s a case of a huge misunderstanding. But that’s without counting on the doggedness of the not overly scrupulous police, in a hurry to close a botched investigation, an infuriatingly spineless court-appointed lawyer, and fingerprints found where they shouldn’t be… So as he awaits his trial on death row, which the authorities consider less dangerous for him than a cell amid ordinary detainees, and while the media get excited about his “crime,” it’s no wonder he starts to crack up. The stunned reader follows Jeff in his long descent into hell…
In this novel, inspired by a true case that caused a sensation in Salt Lake City in 2003/2004, with humor more biting than ever, Iain Levison takes us down the judicial spiral of one of the most repressive states in America. Chilling.
Iain Levison was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1963 and came to the US in 1971. After graduating high school, he returned to the UK to join the British Army. Three years later, he returned to the US, where he has since worked as a truck driver, house painter, Alaskan crab fisherman, and emergency medical technician. These experiences inspired his first book : A Working Stiff Manifesto (Soho Press : Tribulations d’un précaire in France). His first novel Since the Layoffs (Soho Press ; Un petit boulot in France-50.000 copies sold) attracted much attention and has been published in Germany (Matthes und Seitz), Italy (Instar Libri) and The Netherlands (De Geus). We were the first publisher of his second novel Une canaille et demie (2006 ;15.000 copies sold) which has also been published in Germany (Matthes und Seitz), Italy (Feltrinelli), The Netherlands (De Geus) and UK+USA (Bitter Lemon Press). Arrêtez-moi là!, a movie directed by Gilles Bannier, with Reda Kateb, is due for release.
About
“With Arrêtez-moi là (The Cab Driver), Iain Levison delivers a hard-hitting novel – violent, biting, and unforgettable.” Mediapart
“Get your hands right away on this work of fiction that takes the American judicial system to pieces.” Marianne
“A vitriolic critique of contemporary America when if goes off the rails.” Lire
“A novel that’s light and dark at the same time, and profoundly devoid of illusions.” Le Figaro littéraire
“A novel that rejoices in a life-force and capacity for indignation.” Télérama
“With a master’s stroke, a hard-hitting novel.” Le Progrès
“In a thriller as somber as it is effective, the adventurous Iain Levison puts a spoke in the wheels of the American judicial system.” Le Matricule des Anges
“A novel that reads with a kind of ferocious and chilling glee.” La Marseillaise
“To be devoured without a moment’s delay in order to understand what you read in the papers.” RTL
“A book of implacable lucidity.” Radio classique