Pick a Color
Souvankham Thammavongsa · Literary Fiction
Based on recommendations from independent creators
#259 All Time
About this book
Henry Award winner and two-time Giller Prize winner Souvankham Thammavongsa comes a revelatory novel about loneliness, love, labor, and class, an intimate and sharply written book following a nail salon owner as she toils away for the privileged clients who don't even know her true name. “I live in a world of Susans. I got name tags for everyone who works at this nail salon, and on every one is printed the name 'Susan.'" Ning is a retired boxer, but to the customers who visit her nail salon, she is just another worker named Susan. On this summer's day, much like any other, the Susans buff and clip and polish and tweeze. They listen and smile and nod. But beneath this superficial veneer, Ning is a woman of rigorous intellect and profound complexity. A woman enthralled by the intricacy and rhythms of her work, but also haunted by memories of paths not taken and opportunities lost. A woman navigating the complex power dynamics among her fellow Susans, wh
Books with similar tropes
Last refreshed just now