A review by ilmaa
Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

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.