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A review by fionamclary
Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So
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.
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.
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