Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

18 reviews

savvylit's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Afterparties is full of slice-of-life stories featuring close-knit Cambodian families, queer love, and the lasting echoes of genocidal terror. The young people coming of age in these stories are sensitive, funny, loyal, and relatable. Each character feels pulled directly from life by an author both exuberant and empathetic. It's a shame that Veasno So left the world at such a young age; Afterparties is brimming with characters that I'd love to know even better - and to see further developed into longer stories.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Drug use

iszys's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Death of parent, Drug use, and Mass/school shootings

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 them. What a beautiful testament to Cambodian-American life and queerness.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

maddie7217's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual content, Medical content, Excrement, Death of parent, Dementia, and Death

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

martinatan's review against another edition

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.

---

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

jazhandz's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia and Sexual content

Moderate: Genocide, Death, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Death of parent and Excrement

The story “We Would’ve Been Princes!” includes an addict getting cross-faded, to anyone who is sensitive to stories about addiction.

poisonivy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

this was such a charming collection, and i really loved some of the stories

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, War, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, and Genocide

wenwanzhao's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Great collection of short stories about a Cambodian community in California. Real and messy in a way that requires subtlety to convey. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

delz's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This collection of stories is written by Anthony Veasna So, a descendant of Cambodian/Khmer immigrants who “survived” the Cambodian genocide. The stories have heart, wisdom and wit. They coalesce into the landscape of generational trauma suffered long after escape. Their suicides, poverty, drug addiction while trying to live the American dream. While trying to provide their children with better lives, with determination, and eventually successes. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Genocide

emmehooks's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

This is the kind of short story collection I would have loved to read with a book club. Every story creates a universe full of nuance and life and left me with more questions and thoughts at the close than the start. 

beautiful prose sharing glimpses into American Khmer existences, generational trauma, and queerness .

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Addiction, War, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Suicide and Drug use

Minor: Miscarriage and Vomit