Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

13 reviews

robinks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

This collection of short stories was so engaging and devastating. So seamlessly integrates fact and fiction, and I love how the characters jump off the page, some recurring in multiple stories to get another perspective on a them. What a beautiful testament to Cambodian-American life and queerness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, Death of parent, Classism, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Blood, Genocide, War, Suicide, Alcohol, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical content, Addiction, Child death, Infidelity, Drug use, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Vomit

martinatan's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• 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

Enjoyable and incredibly reflective. At the center of all of these stories is the protagonists’ emotional development, set against a vibrant exploration of many corners of the Cambodian American experience. It is obvious that the author found a lot of catharsis in writing about friends, relatives, and other figures of his personal community. He treats all of these people with empathy and nuance. I was a little lost at times when beginning a new story as it would introduce a new point of view, and it took me a little effort to come to terms with the fine line that So treads between autobiography and autofiction. However, it didn’t take me long to grow fond of each character’s personality and care about their challenges and victories. I felt some kinship as a fellow Asian American, but learned much more about the specific histories that Cambodian immigrants in California have to reckon with. Hard for me to pick a favorite story, but Generational Differences was an extremely interesting and uniquely written story to end the collection on. I wish Anthony Veasna So were still here to see his work move through the world, but regardless he leaves behind a body of work that I and many others will cherish.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Death, Dementia, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Addiction

Minor: Gun violence, Classism, Violence, Hate crime, Cancer, Drug abuse, War, Cursing, Colonisation, Excrement, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Racism

kayladaila's review

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Excrement, Terminal illness, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Abandonment, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Alcohol

bookishaddictions's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

This one has been on my shelf forever it seems, so it was time to give it a read. I started this hyped to learn since I don’t normally hear much about Cambodian Americans, and I found I myself researching often and learned quite a bit. Overall, I thought the stories were interesting. Each of the short stories depicts one people living their daily (and often connected) lives; this includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. This book did make me uncomfortable in a bad way though, and that ultimately made it a three star read for me. I do not have an issue with smut or dirty scenes in themselves, however, I typically like my books to be upfront about there being sexual content. I was not prepared for the amount of detailed sexual content was included, so it caught me very off guard. If there had been some indicator that there was sexual content in this one, I think I would have been cool with it. On the bright side, there was a lot of talk of yummy sounding food; I’m now looking to see if I have Cambodian near me 🤣✌🏻

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Domestic abuse and Homophobia

kirstym25's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Genocide

Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Death

Minor: Addiction and Homophobia

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.75

This was such a good collection of short stories, and it’s unbelievably heartbreaking to know that So’s career was cut short. Something I really appreciated about each short story was this striking balance of wry humor and quiet grief. So explored the distinct experience of being Cambodian American, queer, a child of refugees, and more. His stories almost seemed to exist outside of time in the way they simultaneously touch on past, present, and future. It’s not to say these stories existed in their own bubbles but, rather, So poignantly took into consideration (generational) trauma and memory and their impact across time. These stories were twinged with care and love, weaving in the Khmer language and culture into the blanket of the United States to create a space for Cambodian Americans.

I honestly enjoyed all of these stories for very different reasons, which I think demonstrates So’s talent. (Though, like any book, it’s not going to be for everyone.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual content

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Genocide, and Death

Minor: Homophobia, Addiction, and Suicide

mandkips's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence

Minor: Homophobia and War

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

afterparties is an interesting book that refreshingly features cambodians and cambodian americans - a rarely spotlighted group - and the byproduct is a semi-interconnecting set of original, unpredictable, sometimes startlingly provocative yet darkly humorous short stories, though i feel like some of them could've been more impactful.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Dementia

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Violence, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Excrement, and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, War, Child death, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Drug abuse

elihegy's review

funny informative sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Dementia, Genocide, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Addiction

stevie's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, War, and Xenophobia