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readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
I really enjoyed the first story with the daughters and mother owning the donut shops and theme everything else basically went down hill dramatically. I took a break from the book to see if maybe I wasn’t in the right head spaces and hated it when I picked it back up.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Infidelity, War, and Terminal illness
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
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
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.
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.
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
annuich's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Infidelity, Genocide, Drug use, and Dementia
readingwithkt's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
AFTERPARTIES offers snapshots into the lives of Cambodian refugees, and their [American-born] children, living and working in America. In each story, we meet a new narrator and a new cast of characters, each of them fully realised. From women escaping violent relationships and men having threesomes, to your sister being reincarnated as your great-niece and an unlikely friendship with a Monk; each of the storylines in this collection was unique and complex.
Often exploring difficult or complex themes, AFTERPARTIES holds a special focus on the Cambodian genocide (1975-1979) and the lasting effects on those who survived it. The collection explores intergenerational trauma, and trauma in general; the marks it leaves upon us, and a possible new path forward for survivors.
At times entertaining, at other points unsettling or disturbing; Anthony Veasna So's writing is evocative and immersive. I'm grateful to have read an early copy of this title via Netgalley.
I was devastated to learn of Anthony Veasna So's passing - a writer that has been taken from us far too soon. My thoughts are with his partner, family, and loved ones. And thank you to Anthony Veasna So for writing these stories and choosing to put them out into the world.
Often exploring difficult or complex themes, AFTERPARTIES holds a special focus on the Cambodian genocide (1975-1979) and the lasting effects on those who survived it. The collection explores intergenerational trauma, and trauma in general; the marks it leaves upon us, and a possible new path forward for survivors.
At times entertaining, at other points unsettling or disturbing; Anthony Veasna So's writing is evocative and immersive. I'm grateful to have read an early copy of this title via Netgalley.
I was devastated to learn of Anthony Veasna So's passing - a writer that has been taken from us far too soon. My thoughts are with his partner, family, and loved ones. And thank you to Anthony Veasna So for writing these stories and choosing to put them out into the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death and Terminal illness
Minor: Genocide
mezzano's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
There reached a point reading Afterparties where I was convinced Anthony Veasna So was writing nonfiction. So's mastery of the written word created a world rich with compelling characters and deep surroundings. So's focus on Cambodians and Cambodian-Americans also provided a narrative highly underrepresented in literature, without tokenizing any character from its wide cast. Even more impressive is how many of the stories are woven and connected together, as the stories all take place in the same surrounding area of California.
So's strongest stories are those which focus intensely on a particular character. Each story displays how trauma has affected an entire community, even those who are an ocean away from memories of genocide, poverty, and war. Superking Son Scores Again is a great story as it blends the past generational traumas with the pressures and expectations of young students today, but using badminton as a driving force for the story. Human Development focuses on a teacher who is teaching Moby Dick to students, while surrounded by a sea of connections who are making plenty of money focusing on technological advancements and applications. This story was particularly memorable, as the main character is both envious and flawed, but still trying to find his own meaning after graduating from esteemed universities. There are plenty of stories which don't focus on students or education at all, such as Three Women of Chuck's Donuts and Generational Differences, which all bring something to think about and relish in their own right. While some of the middle stories blend together at times, this is mostly the result of certain stories shining more brightly than others than any story being particularly dim or boring.
Upon learning of Anthony Veasana So's untimely death, I found it saddening that there would be no second collection of stories. Still, So's debut feels like an instant classic--a must have for any bookshelf.
So's strongest stories are those which focus intensely on a particular character. Each story displays how trauma has affected an entire community, even those who are an ocean away from memories of genocide, poverty, and war. Superking Son Scores Again is a great story as it blends the past generational traumas with the pressures and expectations of young students today, but using badminton as a driving force for the story. Human Development focuses on a teacher who is teaching Moby Dick to students, while surrounded by a sea of connections who are making plenty of money focusing on technological advancements and applications. This story was particularly memorable, as the main character is both envious and flawed, but still trying to find his own meaning after graduating from esteemed universities. There are plenty of stories which don't focus on students or education at all, such as Three Women of Chuck's Donuts and Generational Differences, which all bring something to think about and relish in their own right. While some of the middle stories blend together at times, this is mostly the result of certain stories shining more brightly than others than any story being particularly dim or boring.
Upon learning of Anthony Veasana So's untimely death, I found it saddening that there would be no second collection of stories. Still, So's debut feels like an instant classic--a must have for any bookshelf.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
Minor: Mass/school shootings
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