"Thammavongsa was born in Nong Khai, Thailand, in a Lao refugee camp. The family moved to Toronto when she was one year old. She grew up in a one-room apartment with her parents and brother; when she was fifteen and her parents decided to open their own business, she, her mother, and brother spent months sleeping in the family van to make the transition work."
""Men are just, for the most part, completely, well, this man for sure . . ." Paikin hedged, then trailed off. "If I ever have to go into one of these places, it is just not natural territory for me." The crowd bristled, but Paikin did not abate. "Why is it only Southeast Asian women who work at nail salons?" "Do you write small books because you're a small person?""
A launch event featured confrontational questions about gender, readership, and race, provoking audible disapproval from the audience. The novel is narrated over one day by Ning, a former boxer who now owns a nail salon, and centers on the lived experience of a Southeast Asian woman. The writer has received major recognition and publications, including a Giller Prize and appearances in prominent magazines. Her personal history includes being born in a Lao refugee camp, immigrating to Toronto at age one, growing up in cramped housing, and enduring family sacrifices such as sleeping in a van during a small-business transition.
Read at The Walrus
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