justinabasuthakur's reviews
97 reviews

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

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4.0

Heartfelt, funny, and heavy stories that embody the generational trauma of immigrants (specifically refugees) & their children.

My favorites:
1. Somaly Serey, Serey Somaly
2. Generational Differences
3. The Shop

Notable mentions:
1. Human Development
2. Three Women of Chuck's Donuts

"As I waded through the fog, I wondered, the, at the impossibility of my existence. Here I was! Living in a district that echoed a dead San Francisco. Gay, Cambodian, and not even twenty-six, carrying in my body the aftermath of war, genocide, colonialism."
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

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3.5

baldwin's gorgeous writing and thorough character development got me through the religion/Christianity subject that I would normally find disconnecting. in fact, i had to take breaks reading it because it was so emotionally packed. hard to believe this was his first novel
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

bizarre and unpleasant story written quite beautifully???? confused & conflicted on this one. the male characters served their purpose in the story but really did not need so much of their voice, as Yeong-hye’s perspective was (disturbingly) the most interesting one