Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

15 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia

fkshg8465's review against another edition

emotional informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This is my first read of a Cambodian author. I should’ve waited to read a novel. The short story format didn’t work for me. A few stories were good. The rest felt underdeveloped. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Alcohol

amberinpieces's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Dementia, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

robinks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This collection of short stories was so engaging and devastating. So seamlessly integrates fact and fiction, and I love how the characters jump off the page, some recurring in multiple stories to get another perspective on them. What a beautiful testament to Cambodian-American life and queerness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Excrement, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, and Pregnancy

maddie7217's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

martinatan's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

Enjoyable and incredibly reflective. At the center of all of these stories is the protagonists’ emotional development, set against a vibrant exploration of many corners of the Cambodian American experience. It is obvious that the author found a lot of catharsis in writing about friends, relatives, and other figures of his personal community. He treats all of these people with empathy and nuance. I was a little lost at times when beginning a new story as it would introduce a new point of view, and it took me a little effort to come to terms with the fine line that So treads between autobiography and autofiction. However, it didn’t take me long to grow fond of each character’s personality and care about their challenges and victories. I felt some kinship as a fellow Asian American, but learned much more about the specific histories that Cambodian immigrants in California have to reckon with. Hard for me to pick a favorite story, but Generational Differences was an extremely interesting and uniquely written story to end the collection on. I wish Anthony Veasna So were still here to see his work move through the world, but regardless he leaves behind a body of work that I and many others will cherish.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Medical content, Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Classism

jazhandz's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Dementia

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Genocide, and Alcohol

Minor: Excrement and Death of parent

The story “We Would’ve Been Princes!” includes an addict getting cross-faded, to anyone who is sensitive to stories about addiction.

wenwanzhao's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Great collection of short stories about a Cambodian community in California. Real and messy in a way that requires subtlety to convey. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

kayladaila's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

delz's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This collection of stories is written by Anthony Veasna So, a descendant of Cambodian/Khmer immigrants who “survived” the Cambodian genocide. The stories have heart, wisdom and wit. They coalesce into the landscape of generational trauma suffered long after escape. Their suicides, poverty, drug addiction while trying to live the American dream. While trying to provide their children with better lives, with determination, and eventually successes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Genocide and Mass/school shootings