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fionamclary's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
martinatan's review against another edition
- 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
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
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol
kayladaila's review against another edition
- 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
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
maregred's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Dementia, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
elihegy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Dementia
theskyboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
By far, the best stories were "Superking Son Scores Again," "The Shop," and "Somaly Serey, Serey Somaly." In these narratives, So inhabits the lives of others, giving us a glimpse into how he interpreted the quotidian lives of his community and family members. In the shoes of different narrators, So left me enraptured by a candid yet blend of ethnic history and town gossip.
However, this edition's pitfalls lie in both the spoken delivery overall and the original written text of some of the weakest stories of the bunch. For all the insight and wit that So was able to weave into his image of others, the stories focused on the experience of being young, gay, and Cambodian felt lackluster in their heavy reliance on tropes. Additionally, the audiobook's quality improved at 1.5x speed, making up for the somewhat stilted reading that was recorded.
Perhaps saddest of all is that Anthony Veasna So can never surpass this initially published work with subsequent entries into his literary catalog. Haunted by the author's passing through some fault of my own, Afterparties was a memorable yet somewhat unpolished debut that frustratingly could have been so much more on its own or as a jumping-off point for even deeper works. It's hard to say whether I fully recommend this book; it comes down to preference at the end of the day. For me, a repeat read is only in order for a select few stories.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Genocide, Sexual content, Dementia, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Religious bigotry
annuich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War