A soulful first novel by the award-winning poet and short story writer Souvankham Thammavongsa, Pick a Color follows the enigmatic proprietor of a nail salon over the course of an eventful summer day. It is a skillful, witty portrait of a woman composed of intriguing contradictions, the cracks in her hard outer shell exposing depths her clients will never know.
Ning is the astute, dry-humored narrator and the owner of "Susan's." A former boxer in her early 40s, she projects a wary detachment and sizes people up as if they are potential competitors in the ring. In fact, she is soft-hearted and sensitive, eager to be included but unwilling to expose her vulnerabilities. Thammavongsa is marvelously adept at showcasing her protagonist's almost pathological need for control and the dark, swirling mysteries of her troubled past.
A Laotian Canadian writer, Thammavongsa (How to Pronounce Knife) takes an experience readers may be familiar with as customers and invites them to view it from an entirely different perspective. It is a delight to immerse oneself in the everyday drama of the salon's "brightly lit box" with the rhythmic cadence of Thammavongsa's storytelling and the narrative spaces she creates for readers' imaginations to ignite.
Ning and her employees dress in generic black outfits and sport identical haircuts. Mai is second in command, Noi is the new girl, Annie is slow but reliable, and Nok has stopped showing up for her shifts. Each wears a name tag printed with the name Susan; it's easy to pronounce and it means "the clients will never be wrong when they ask for Susan." The salon is located in an unnamed North American city.
The banter between Ning and Mai in their mother tongue in front of clients makes for brilliant comedy, their private shop talk revealing a playful side. One of their regulars is a well-known baseball player, an arrogant pitcher who comes in before and after every game. Ning can expertly maneuver him toward adding more services to his tab and it is endlessly entertaining to watch her stroke his ego.
There is no dramatic ending here but Ning's day, as it comes to a close, is full of quiet victories. People who get their nails done are "hopeful," she observes, because they think they can change their lives for the better. One can say the same for Ning--the salon is her proof of a solid future, a buffer against the terrifying impermanence of life. --Shahina Piyarali
Shelf Talker: A nail salon owner navigates an eventful summer day in this witty debut novel by a Laotian-Canadian writer.