The Greatest Hits Of Wanda Jaynes

THE GREATEST HITS OF WANDA JAYNES

by Bridget Canning

 

Nomination: Dublin Longlist 2019

 

Date Read: July 8, 2022

 

The Greatest Hits Of Wanda Jaynes is about the shitstorm that surrounds anyone deemed “a hero.” Wanda is struggling, having just learned her job is on the chopping block and things with her boyfriend are so-so. On her way home from the gym, Wanda stops at the grocery to pick up coconut milk and is subject to a mass shooter. With no time to escape and no time to think, Wanda hurls the can at the shooters head and knocks him out.

 

Wanda is simply relieved to have escaped with her life. What she doesn’t except is the media circus that camps around her, watching her every move, scrutinizing her religious choices (or lack thereof), and invading her privacy. She begins receiving creepy emails from a stranger that border of stalking. Amidst all this, she is clearly suffering from PTSD and is finding it difficult to express that to everyone around her.

 

Ivan, her live-in boyfriend is just trying to help but seems to be doing everything wrong. He leans on their long-time, super close friends, Tina and Leo, but what is simply support begins to look a lot like cheating. Wands is screwing up at work, even if she is a short-timer. What started out as a challenging period in her life is devolving into a nightmare. 

 

With wit and tenderness, Canning unfurls this story of Wanda and you can’t help but have compassion for her. It’s also interesting to witness this from a Canadian perspective, whereas mass shootings seem to happen every day in America, this community is stripped raw because of the rarity of something like that happening. Overall, an entertaining and solid read.

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