Elegant, thought-provoking, and beautifully crafted 🎨✨. Pick a Colour is a powerful collection that explores identity, belonging, and human connection with lyrical precision. Souvankham Thammavongsa’s writing is understated yet deeply moving, offering quiet reflections that linger. I adored the poetic style and sharp observations. Perfect for fans of short fiction that resonates.

I don't like to give negative feedback and I think this book just wasn't to my taste. The cover and title suggested to me that it would be a bit more of a dynamic/vibrant read, and I just found it far too slow a read. I didn't click with any of the characters either, it felt like way too long was spent just hearing about the day to day in a nail salon. I've worked in a salon in the past so it was a bit too close to home maybe!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.
This is such an odd little novella.

I enjoyed the insight into the day to day running of the nail shop and all the details of what went through the main charactersmind and they way they anticipated the customers needs and kept their 'girls' busy.
It just felt like it was missing something, I wanted more from the characters, but ultimately an enjoyable read.

The first novel by a Laotian Canadian (born in a Thai refugee camp) poet and Giller Prize (2020 – with “How To Pronounce Knife”) winning short story writer.

It is set over one working day (and I think best read the same way – for me on the two legs of a commute) in “Susan’s” a nail salon (in we assume Canada) and narrated by the owner of the salon (Ning) who like the rest of her workforce (all immigrants from her home country – we assume Laos) wear badges calling themselves “Susan” and dress identically with t-shirt/pants which match their uniformly cut black hair.

Ning we quickly realise (and perhaps note also the Rita Bullwinkle blurb as being linked) is a retired boxer – and often reflects to herself on her boxing past (and the advices of her trainer) and her first post boxing job in a nail salon from which she was then sacked when the owner Rachel felt she was getting too old.

Ning and the other workers (on that day including a new girl Noi, her regular worker Mai, and Annie who is covering for another worker Nok who has not shown up for several days) operate a cheap and efficient operation – a mix of regular customers (notably a semi-famous baseball pitcher), one-off bookings (here a bridal party) and walk-ins – both listening to their customers life stories, while also gossiping and speculating about them, sometimes outrageously, in their native language.

The simplicity of the set up is matched by that of the language (present tense, short sentences) but the novel is full of pathos: an incident when Ning treats a homeless man, an accident involving a pigeon, an encounter with the father of a girl she gives shelter after a blown tire whose silent dismissal of her shows us the racism Ning faces, Ning’s ambiguity about joining her workers for lunch – her need to maintain professional distance clashing with her personal need for connection, her reflections on what she really knows of those she works with daily and they of her – and so on.

And all of this – as well as the glimpses into the life stories of the customers – does make for an affecting story but one I felt would have worked better as the anchor novella of a short story collection – a closing scene involving Rachel not for me sufficient to give the story this enough weight to fully function as a standalone.

I enjoyed this slice of life novella about a nail salon. The main character used to be a boxer and I found it interesting the change up. I liked the writing style and was intrigued by the plot and characters and customers. I gave this 3 stars because it wasn’t life changing, however, it was a enjoyable slice of life with more to offer and a quick read. A nice read if you are wanting a palette cleanser.

We are shown two different performances taking place in a confined space over a short time period as an insight into the interior struggle we can have to know who we are.

In the past Ning was a boxer, who had to win in the ring, and while she was successful she was still underestimated. She has to be able to spot and exploit her opponents weaknesses while concealing her own in a powerful people that can’t be ignored.

But in the present we follow her for one day while she runs her small nail salon. She is still observing and anticipating what everyone around her does, but this time she becomes anonymous by wearing an all black uniform and taking the same fake name everyone in the shop uses.

I felt this showed how immigrants are undervalued despite what they achieved in their birth country, but also she was knowingly playing into these expectations to highlight the inner conflict.

This was a very interesting exploration of how we treat people we barely know and why sometimes we are too afraid to get close enough to someone to know who they are.

This was really beautifully written but so short I struggled to get behind its power emotionally. There were several moments of intense and delightful insight and exacting precision within its prose but this was inconsistent and didn't hold its power throughout. It was one of those cases where it's almost worse to see just how much potential the prose without it being realised to the fullest extent.

‘Pick a Colour’ is a brilliant slice-of-life novella that recounts a day in a nail salon through the eyes of the owner, Ning. The story is mostly contained to the nail salon, with some recollections to previous events, but still somehow manages to craft a full world with a fully fleshed out main character. Thammavongsa manages to accurately portray the experience of working in customer service whilst subtly interweaving how gender and race impact this experience. Even though Ning owns the salon she’s just another Susan to the customers- customers who are so self-involved they don’t even notice the shop is entirely staffed by Susans. The story offers a fascinating look into the immigrant perspective without being heavy-handed, and really is just an expertly crafted piece of work overall.

I wish there was more to read as I wanted to know more about Ning and her girls, but the books charm is in its brevity and Thammavongsa has created something really special with ‘Pick a Colour’.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

This whole book - a very short novel - is essentially a stream of consciousness by a former boxer turned nail salon owner. She manages her "girls" carefully, firm but fair, with strict requirements - the girls (like her, from somewhere else, maybe Thailand or Laos? The novel doesn't say) must wear all black, and their hair can't be too long. She follows her routine, chats about her clients with the employees in their mother tongue, talks about relationships, men, money. I kept waiting for more to happen, but we just follow her during a whole day as she opens the shop, serves customers, observes the pigeon outside, misses her lunch break, closes up.
It was nicely written, a bit slow. I know the point was that it had no plot but I'd have liked a plot.
Still, it was an enjoyable read.

Pick a Colour tells an interwoven story of past and present over the course of one working day. More of a character study, this novella shows the tension between the current and past versions of the main character. I enjoyed getting an insider view of Ning's thoughts as she interacted with others and maintained her chosen persona. While sharp and insightful, I feel that I didn't pick up on some of the nuances of the story that focused on the immigrant experience. This is not a fault of the book by any means, but others will be able to gain more from reading than I did. Overall, this was an interesting reading experience that gave me a glimpse into one day in Ning's life.

"Pick a Colour" is a well-paced chamber piece, set in the space of a beauty salon, ran by an immigrant worker hiring other immigrant workers. The array of characters serves to portray social dynamics between the clientele and the service providers as well as the dynamics between colleagues and employer and employees.

Many micordynamics are only gently signalled and will be only noticeable to those who might have similar migrant experience or the experience of not really belonging. It seems like the only way out of the salon for the moment, especially for Ning, the main character, are trips down the memory lane, to her past life as a promising athlete.

There's bitterness, there's humour, there's scrappiness, there's hope and lack of thereof.

Definitely worth picking up.

Set almost entirely in a nail salon in the course of a single day, we follow the story of Ning (aka Susan, like all the other women working at that salon) through a series of observations and flashbacks.

It is a slow paced read with very little by way of plot, but those aren’t really criticisms here - whilst it was slow it still felt engaging and never dragged. Ning’s musings on life at the salon, and in particular the view of how people (and specifically immigrants) are made to feel in those personal service roles were interesting and insightful, with an almost poetic quality.

I really enjoyed this book. It won’t change your life, but is definitely worth a read.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book set in a nail bar, where Ning our main protagonist and every other technician is called Susan, in order to save on name tags and to avoid confusion amongst clients. I felt immersed in Ning’s inner monologue, laden with missed opportunities and a sensitive observation of her colleagues and clients. The writing in this book flows beautifully to the point I read it in one sitting. A great read!

Likeable book about a day in the life of a nail bar. Within the book we meet the owner, staff and some of the customers. Whilst nothing much happens it is still very readable and keeps you reading.

Ning works in a nail salon and everyone thinks she is just another worker. However in a past life she used to be a boxer. This book takes us through one day in her life at the salon and examines her memories and regrets. Along with her fellow ‘Susans’ she enjoys the banter but the reader can tell there is more to Ning than meets the eye.

The book is an interesting and short read. It looks into the daily lives of immigrants who gently mock the customers who come into the salon in their native language. The descriptions of the colours of the nail polish and Ning’s attention to detail, always checking for lumps and bumps and irregularities that she can help with show us that she deeply cares about what she does, despite her cold exterior. While customers are willing to spill their woes to her, Ning keeps herself to herself.

I enjoyed the book and have not read anything else by this author. Thank you to all for the advance copy.

Even if her customers think of her as yet another "Susan", one of an interchangeable group of women working at a nail salon, Ning is in fact a former boxer with a sharp brain - and the analytical skills to recognise the absurdity of her situation.

The book takes a scathing look at the stereotypes and contradictions of the lived immigrant experience, condensing its insights into story told over the course of the single day. Worth a read, it gets 3.5 stars.

"Pick a Colour" by Souvankham Thammavongsa is a brief yet captivating story that delves into the dynamics of gender, race, and class/labour as experienced by the main character, her employees, and the customers they engage with.

Ning, our female main character, is a former boxer who has left the boxing world and now runs her own nail salon. While the story lacks a traditional plot, it chronicles Ning's day from the opening of the salon through to its closing.

She operates the salon with a neat and organized routine, where she and her employees all refer to themselves as Susan, wear identical clothing, have the same haircut, and offer only basic salon services at cheap prices while insulting their indifferent white customers in their native language.

Ning operates a highly micromanaged ship where they lean into the invisible role immigrant workers have in industries like salons.

However, as the story progresses, we see Ning struggle with the need to be seen by her customers and colleagues, and despite appearing cold and uncaring, she genuinely cares about her workers. She worries about them to the extent that she cannot bring herself to fire one of them for not showing up after receiving their pay in advance.

Overall, it is a very interesting read with a compelling premise.

[This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion]

A trip to the salon like no other. Ning has a past as a boxer but now she runs her nail salon Susan's, it's small but uniformly smart, with a place for everything and everything in it's pace, exactly how she likes it.

Unfolding over a day Ning contemplates her past and her present whilst dealing with customers. We are given brief glimpses of her boxing life which helps her navigate fussy customers along with no show staff.

A riveting tale, richly told, the nail colours lept off the walls and I could feel the warmth of the sudsy basin of water on my feet.

I was devasted to finish it so soon but the prose was liquid gold

Will be on the lookout for more from this author.

Pick a Colour is a quietly powerful and sharply observed character study that explores identity, labour and the complexities of womanhood with understated brilliance. Told over a single day, Souvankham Thammavongsa invites readers into the inner world of Ning, a retired boxer turned nail salon worker, who is known to her clients only as Susan.

This is not a book driven by action, but by atmosphere, language and emotional truth. Through Ning's internal monologue, we gain a piercing insight into her hidden intellect and the daily contradictions she faces in her job. The salon is full of chatter, polish and routine, but beneath the surface, tensions simmer. The Susans, as the women are collectively nicknamed, operate in a space where class, race and gender collide, often in subtle, cutting ways.

What makes this book so effective is the way it captures the rhythms of working life and the invisible dynamics between women who are both bonded and divided by their shared space. There is a quiet tension that builds with each interaction, each memory and reflection Ning shares. Her voice is introspective, wry and full of unspoken longing. She is a woman shaped by what has been lost, but also defined by a quiet strength that refuses to be diminished.

The writing is precise, intimate and often poetic. It has the feeling of watching a single moment unfold in real time, yet every word carries weight. While the plot is minimal, the emotional depth is immense. This is a book that lingers, not because of what happens, but because of how deeply it makes you feel the shape of someone else's life.

Pick a Colour is a masterclass in stillness and subtlety. A short book, but one that speaks volumes about the human condition. Thoughtful, moving and exquisitely written.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

I read Thammavongsas' previous short story collection and absolutely loved it, so I was very excited about her new novel and requested it straight away.

Unfortunately I don't think the story had as much power as her previous work. I never became attached to the characters and I don't think it had the emotional impact that the author was aiming for.

It was a solid take on immigration and playing into stereotypes to your benefit but I think it could have gone deeper.