Careful Lady Driver
Published on 9th December 2020
My favourite story from 'Voices : An Open Door Book of Stories' is 'Careful Lady Driver' by Ciara Geraghty. In the foreword, the editor of this collection, Patricia Scanlan, describes it as being for emerging readers, therefore I must be careful to cut out the highfaluting.
Not long ago, near the wooden bridge in Clontarf; two men were watching a woman reverse her car into a tight space, I overheard one remark to the other, “...they’ve no spatial awareness”.
The lady in this story has plenty of spatial awareness and is an all-round good driver (sorry lads, believe me, I’m as disappointed as ye are). This story is narrated by her car (though a male colleague of mine is vehemently opposed to any tendency to anthropomorphize cars - but let’s soldier on).
Geraghty shows considerable restraint in allowing no mention (by the car) of the fact that this guy re-arranges the dishes in the dishwasher after the lady has loaded it (of course he does, I’m seeking help for the same problem myself, it’s an architectural thing). I don’t think it’s giving too much away to say that this guy’s fate is sealed once he insists on always driving.
The car is a Nissan Micra by the way.
Submitted by Brian R. from Relief Panel and Home Delivery.