Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Afterparties

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Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

41 reviews

fionamclary's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Unfortunately I was disappointed by this collection. It's been on my TBR ever since I happened to read an article about So's death back in 2020 or 2021, the first I'd heard of him. There was so much hype and praise around this posthumous publication that my expectations were quite high. I felt that the stories did improve in the latter part of the book. I kind of liked that many stories took place in the same "universe" with recurring characters. I'll give a breakdown of my thoughts on each story, though, since they range wildly.

Three Women of Chuck's Donuts: 2.75/5. It was fine, with a theme self-contained enough for the scope of the story. Not terribly interesting however.

Superking Son Scores Again: 1/5. Easily the worst in the collection. I guess I get the point of the story but my god it was so boring. The author did nothing to make me invested in the characters. I felt like I was listening to a stoned teenager telling a story full of pointless details and not at all caring whether or not the events were relevant or interesting to their audience.

Maly, Maly, Maly: 3/5. Again, pretty boring, but I did connect with the feeling of both having empathy for someone going through a tough time while also resenting them for not noticing or caring about your own struggles.

The Shop: 3.5/5. This was the one where my interest finally started picking up, where I actually cared about the characters.

The Monks: 2.5/5. This one was weird. I suppose the stories of 20-year-old straight men feeling lost in life must be told, but I don't have to read them.

We Would've Been Princes: 3.5/5. Finally, some real character work! Fully fleshed-out interpersonal relationships! I also felt like So cared about these main characters a lot -- I could feel their complicated emotions about themselves, each other, and their community through the page.

Human Development: 4.75/5. This one was really good. The critique of mainstream 2010s liberal identity politics was subtle but powerful and really hit home for me. It's clear that this was the most autobiographical story in the collection, with the main character sharing the author's first name, and I think that may have leant a good deal of strength to this one.

Somaly Serey, Serey Somaly: 4/5. This one felt sort of unifying given how many previous characters it featured. The exploration of generational trauma was compassionate, yet unrelenting and sharp.

Generational Differences: 5/5. Short and to the point, and strong for that. It felt fitting to finish the collection with a story about a woman who has escaped the genocide only to immigrate into the most American form of death, a school shooting. The ways that survival and violence become inevitable, the difficulty of integrating a survivor identity without passing on too much generational trauma. This one was direct, the theme laid bare without feeling at all didactic or inelegant.

Maybe I'm just a dumb scientist who doesn't Get It because I haven't studied Literature enough, but this collection felt very choppy in quality and tone. However, I'm pleased that there were some stories that I really liked and am glad to have read. In these times I think it's important to heed writers whose families have been through genocide, and I hope we see more Cambodian/Khmer authors filling the gap left by So's sudden and untimely death.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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mollymdull's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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sionnac's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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confused_cat's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The stories are often times shocking, funny, tragic, and outrageous. However, these stories feel terribly authentic. I am not Cambo American and yet I feel like I know the people in the story and these fictional characters are based on some real people's life.

If anything, just go and read the Three Women of Chuck's donuts in the New Yorker website for a quick taste of Anthony So's wonderful writing.

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savvylit's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Afterparties is full of slice-of-life stories featuring close-knit Cambodian families, queer love, and the lasting echoes of genocidal terror. The young people coming of age in these stories are sensitive, funny, loyal, and relatable. Each character feels pulled directly from life by an author both exuberant and empathetic. It's a shame that Veasno So left the world at such a young age; Afterparties is brimming with characters that I'd love to know even better - and to see further developed into longer stories.

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