Select color – Thammavongsa Suvankham – Alpina Publisher – 2026 – ISBN 978-5-0063-1983-7
Select color
9.99 €
In stock
Select color
9.99 €
Ning, a former boxer, runs a nail salon. Here, she's just another Susan: that's the nickname given to all the girls working there, so clients won't have to strain their tongues pronouncing their exotic names. The privileged world looks down on people like them. On this summer day, like any other, Susans are getting their hair polished, cut, colored, and plucked. They listen, smile, and nod, and joke endlessly among themselves, discussing and ridiculing their clients in a language no one understands.
Ning sees through people. Behind the inconspicuous exterior lies a woman with a keen mind and a deep, complex character. She's obsessed with the rhythm and challenges of her work, yet haunted by memories of unfulfilled dreams and missed opportunities. She tries to unravel the intricacies of relationships between other Susans, whose fears and desires are hidden behind the gossip they constantly exchange. As the workday draws to a close, tensions mount between Ning's two selves—the anonymous manicurist and the astute observer of her own life.
This caustic, strikingly precise, and witty story, whose events span just one workday but reflect a host of pressing social issues, immerses us in a closed female world with its own rules, language, habits, and rituals, the key to which remain two cherished words: "Choose a color."
Ning sees through people. Behind the inconspicuous exterior lies a woman with a keen mind and a deep, complex character. She's obsessed with the rhythm and challenges of her work, yet haunted by memories of unfulfilled dreams and missed opportunities. She tries to unravel the intricacies of relationships between other Susans, whose fears and desires are hidden behind the gossip they constantly exchange. As the workday draws to a close, tensions mount between Ning's two selves—the anonymous manicurist and the astute observer of her own life.
This caustic, strikingly precise, and witty story, whose events span just one workday but reflect a host of pressing social issues, immerses us in a closed female world with its own rules, language, habits, and rituals, the key to which remain two cherished words: "Choose a color."
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