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fkshg8465's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Alcohol
amberinpieces'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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
mollymdull's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, and War
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Suicide
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Despite multiple different characters of different genders and occupations, they all bleed together after a few and have nothing new to really saw and while some talent in prose it was also incredibly stiff awkward and self righteous while having very little to say especially that wasn’t repetitive from the previous and frankly pretentious. Many stories read like thinly veiled short essays that would probably have been better then what’s supposedly a fiction story that’s largely just a rant about how Buddhist temples fleece grieving people for money and are hypocrites to having an elderly refugee talk about being afraid of boys in red and blue that’s very clearly trying to dodge that the woman is referring to black boys she just assumes are gang members and reads so poorly you are not surprised that despite the Themes of poverty that the author literally grew up in a gated community upper middle class. I also thought the way the book talked about woman was flat and one dimensional at best after the first story. It just was very disappointing to have a boring book that insisted upon itself while having nothing to say, a book that had so many characters but came off to me as uninterested in people or their lives and as if it didn’t like them and increasing bitter not even over the actual tragedy or trauma in the book but anything. The book confuses pretension and pessimism with depth having teacher character talk about not knowing how to talk to their coworker who wears floral blouses or skirts and likes her job??? There’s literally jokes how common floral clothing is especially for spring before even the point about working a job and not knowing how to talk to your coworkers who don’t hate their job, it just made me out the book done and wonder if the author even talked to people ever.
So has enough spark of talent though I will be putting his actual essays and other posthumous work in my tbr.
Moderate: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and War
robinks's review against another edition
- 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
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
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
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
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Anthony Veasna So has a really intimate way of describing human interactions that suggests he really understands the psyche of his characters. I could be wrong, but I got the sense that several of these stories were semi-autobiographical because some of the characters referred to the protagonist as Anthony (and the character's background matched what I know about the author).
This was a bittersweet read because the writing was excellent and really thought-provoking, but the author died before the collection was published, so I know I'll only get to read one more of his books (Songs on Endless Repeat, set to be published in 2023).
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Mass/school shootings
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
every ethnic group always has a set of commonalities that binds them, yet as so adeptly illustrates here, they are multifaceted and far from being a monolith. i learn a lot abt cambodian culture and the u.s. cambodian community - despite them being a lil similar to my own - but i also enjoy this for its purely fictional aspect, w/ a particular favorite being "human development."
the different immigrant struggles, family conflicts, legacy of intergenerational trauma are examined through various characters and storylines. although they're effective in varying degrees, i often find myself smirking and snorting bc of the dark humor that only the marginalized and survivors know to espouse, while also startled by the off-handed mentions of trauma and violence, a firm reminder that the genocide that sent this group of ppl to where they reside happened not long ago, yet it's also not talked abt enough in the mainstream.
from this volume, it's clear that so was a literary force to be reckoned w/, someone whose future work i would've looked forward to. ig we'll all have to make do w/ afterparties, a nonetheless notable work.
Graphic: Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Dementia
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Excrement, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and War
ladymirtazapine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent