Pick a Colour
by Souvankham Thammavongsa
-
This novel takes place in the same world as Souvankham Thammavongsa’s short story, “Mani Pedi,” which was one of my favourites from her collection, How to Pronounce Knife. The novel’s narrator, Ning, is the owner/manager of a beauty salon, and the characters from the short story are mentioned as competitors from another shop.
There’s not much to tell by way of plot: the book covers only a single day, as a variety of clients come in for manicures, pedicures and other… procedures? (I’m so unfamiliar with this world that I don’t even know how to describe it.) The customers seem eager to share the deepest parts of their personal lives, which prompts the narrator and her colleagues to deride and mock them in their shared non-English language. A lot of playful humour comes of this, which is basically the exact setup of this old Seinfeld plotline, but there’s way more to Ning’s character than just being a joke.
What most impressed me was how quickly Thammavongsa is able to establish Ning as a character. Within the first few pages, we know exactly what type of person she is: ambitious, independent, strong-willed, and ultimately, lonely. As the story progresses, we get brief flashbacks to her abandoned boxing career, and a coach who left a huge impression on her. These scenes illuminate but do not overexplain why she is the person that she is.
The author writes with a deceptively simple style, which is easy to read but contains so much depth. A rewarding and fascinating read.