Reviews

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

angelaasch's review against another edition

4.0

3.5-4.0: Some stand out, stellar stories, a couple of ok stories, an interesting read nevertheless. I'm sad that this is his one and only book. A young talent gone too soon.

jojireadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

writing style was not exactly for me all of the time but a couple of stories hit me hard, especially "somaly serey, serey somaly" and it was my first time having my hometown <3 stockton <3 be the setting. i knew/know the characters and it all felt very familiar, for sure.

eegrasse's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

kendra_kendra's review against another edition

emotional funny sad 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

3.75

ilmaa's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

 Three women of Chuck's donuts - 3.5/5
Superking Son scores again - 4.5/5
Maly, Maly, Maly - 3/5
The shop - 3/5
The monks - 2.5/5
We would've been princes! - 1/5 DNF
Human development - 4/5
Somaly Serey, Serey Somaly - 4/5
Generational differences - 4/5

Overall: 2.9 rounded to 3. I wanted to like it more since a friend recommended it and I have enjoyed short story collections of a similar vein. However, I found that the most important thing was not the characters themselves, but rather their situations. The characters were in parts, relatable, like peaked in high school Superking Son, college grad who moves back with his parents to work in The Shop, and the teacher of Human Development. There was always something stopping me from fully connecting with them or fully enjoying these stories. 

collie98's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

varsha_r890's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.75

unread's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

4.5

really really loved these, i think some moments i was like “wow that’s gross (visceral)” but i think this touched a strange part of me. favourites — Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts, Superking Son Scores Again, Human Development, Somaly Serey Serey Somaly, Generational Differences.

My favourite thing is that it’s all part of the same universe.

joehardy's review against another edition

5.0

An incredibly humanizing, tender, humorous and introspective reflection on intergenerational trauma, queerness, love, class, family and so much more. While I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others, each was compelling in its own way.

kenziekim's review against another edition

4.0

like any short story collection, afterparties contained some stories that I absolutely loved and some that didn’t resonate with me. anthony veasna so writes with a unique, witty, and dynamic voice, creating a collection which bursts with life. will definitely be rereading some of my favorites: “we would’ve been princes!”, “human development”, & “somaly serey, serey somaly”