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    A complex immigrant family story lies beneath the breezy veneer of 'Sunshine Nails'

    Mai Nguyen's debut novel centers on the family of Tuyết and Xuân Tran, Vietnamese refugees who settle in Toronto. It simmers with questions about work, class and generational divides.
    by Ilana Masad Jul 06, 2023 3 minutes
    <em>Sunshine Nails</em> by Mai Nguyen

    In 1983, Tuyết and Xuân Tran — the couple at the heart of Mai Nguyen's debut novel Sunshine Nails — arrived in Canada as refugees from Vietnam. Settling in Toronto, they worked a series of jobs until they managed to open their own business, the nail salon of the book's title.

    They use their English names, Debbie and Phil (chosen for Debbie Harry and Phil Collins), "to make it easier on their customers." Their children, Jessica and Dustin, grew up with the salon as a kind of younger

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