Reviews

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

wykirsty's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mariab27's review against another edition

4.0

Anthony Veasna So's witty and empathetic style shines through in each of these short stories. Each character feels complete and complex in their own way. Veasna So has the uncanny ability to zoom in so closely to a character that we feel the weight of their life and ancestral history.

Because Veasna So passed away before the publication of this book, I would recommend that those who plan to read 'Afterparties' also read the following article written by Veasna So's partner, Alex Torres: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alexgtorres/anthony-veasna-afterparties-boyfriend-alex-torres. It provided an eery backdrop to this collection of short stories, like you're so close to Anthony Veasna So that his stories are almost too vulnerable.

adrelys's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

byhannakim's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

benplatt's review against another edition

5.0

Solidly written collection that constructs a small universe of Cambodian American community within it, as characters recur and stories are retold across time as you move through the book. That structural approach helps the small scope of the stories feel focused rather than stifling or repetitive. So's writing is funny, his prose effective, and the community of people here is wildly varied while all getting back to similar ideas of generational trauma, alienation, and cultural identification in the shadow of genocide (which is interestingly made to feel like "the source of all our problems and none of them" (255)) across the collection.

angie_dutton's review against another edition

3.0

I feel as if I was supposed to like this a lot more than what I actually did, and maybe somehow it just didn't resonate with me the way I hoped it would, one of those books where I enjoyed the meaning and concept behind it more than I did the actual writing which strives for a very ordinary type of immediacy whilst at the same time feeling consciously written.

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

4.0

I always pay attention to the published works of writers mentored by George Saunders and Dana Spiotta at Syracuse. Any writer who elects to do a MFA with them (and gets in) is one I’m interested in. What So builds so powerfully here in this extraordinary collection is the sense of the pain and distress caused by intergenerational trauma. His insights into the Cambodian American lived experience are deep and nuanced. Surviving genocide leaves long-lasting impressions and deep seeded pain and somehow So gets this onto the page. These stories are those of the children of these immigrants and we feel their joy, their guilt, their pain, their loss. So’s commentary on class is pointed and perfect. The queer lives on the pages in this collection read with an authenticity that is beautiful to behold. I love a collection that tells a larger story and paints a kaleidoscopic portrait.

allthelovers's review against another edition

4.25

the very last line in this collection is so fucking painful knowing that anthony veasna so isn't here with us anymore. these short stories are really good, and so's writing style is just perfect,  a well-balanced blend of humor and pain. the major highlight of the book for me was "human development"

agirlnamedsab's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

ekp10's review against another edition

4.0

Short stories offering pieces-of-life from Cambodian American community in Stockton. Beautifully written, the characters feel like real people. The story feels genuine as the community comes alive. I rarely read stories about Cambodian American, and this is the first book I read about the first generation of the survivors from the genocide. It shows the multitude face of trauma that they and their families have to face.