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dauhns_booklist's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
erichorvath36's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Beautifully written, Afterparties and its short stories take the reader into the Khmer American community in California, through several protagonists that we eventually find out are in each others’ lives. What’s most remarkable about So’s storytelling is how the Khmer Rouge are present in every narrative, yet their weight is light, never grinding a vignette to a standstill with crippling grief, but instead, understood as an unavoidable part of all the character’s everyday existence.
Their intergenerational trauma fills each story like the air we breathe, out of necessity, toxic or not, with a lightness that reminds you of ghosts that haunt but don’t halt us from living.
Their intergenerational trauma fills each story like the air we breathe, out of necessity, toxic or not, with a lightness that reminds you of ghosts that haunt but don’t halt us from living.
maggiegwen26's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
4.5
kymayhew's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.0
dinasamimi's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful range of stories. I picked this up as a read on the immigrant experience, but this is so much more than that. Such a wonderfully evocative collection on generational trauma and its impact in this particular slice of the Cambodian diaspora in the Bay area.
reinedumonde's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
slowsho's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
thebearnest's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sebmoya16's review
5.0
it’s a tragedy that Anthony won’t be able to continue his career.
when I first started this collection, I wasn’t sold that it was meant to be a “generation defining collection.” I had heard a lot of hype, but there was something intangible that was throwing me off. maybe i was uncomfortable with the themes, with the approach of the stories, or the style. Each individual story grew on me, and brought further into the world the author intended for us to experience (because understanding is hardly possible).
standing back and looking at the entire collection has left me empty and full. I’m left with the impression that few people of my generation have been able to successfully grapple with so many moving parts while leaving the reader with a sense of truth. there is honesty and vulnerability in all these stories. there’s pain and trauma seeping through the foundations of these characters that laughter attempts to cover up. this collection is what every good collection aspires to be: a spectrum of experiences that have many voices under one brilliant set of eyes, and honors them.
it’s a tragedy that Anthony wont be able to bring us further into his world. it’s all just pretty fucking tragic
when I first started this collection, I wasn’t sold that it was meant to be a “generation defining collection.” I had heard a lot of hype, but there was something intangible that was throwing me off. maybe i was uncomfortable with the themes, with the approach of the stories, or the style. Each individual story grew on me, and brought further into the world the author intended for us to experience (because understanding is hardly possible).
standing back and looking at the entire collection has left me empty and full. I’m left with the impression that few people of my generation have been able to successfully grapple with so many moving parts while leaving the reader with a sense of truth. there is honesty and vulnerability in all these stories. there’s pain and trauma seeping through the foundations of these characters that laughter attempts to cover up. this collection is what every good collection aspires to be: a spectrum of experiences that have many voices under one brilliant set of eyes, and honors them.
it’s a tragedy that Anthony wont be able to bring us further into his world. it’s all just pretty fucking tragic
labinsky's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.75