Afterparties is a short story collection that unites the experiences of Cambodian Americans living in California. As best as I can recall, it is the first Cambodian American author whose work I have read. Across these stories the author paints a realistic albeit heartbreaking account of the Cambodian experience in the US - including those who arrived as refugees as well as the next generations.

Stories are situated in what appear to be real contexts, demonstrating the typical jobs held by Cambodians (donut shops and auto repair), and most of all the devastating consequences of intergenerational trauma. Almost each and every story depicts the suffering of those who were victims of the Cambodian genocide, and the manner in which this has been transmitted into the psyche of future generations. While the elders tell their stories with great affliction, the younger generations are self deprecating, referring to themselves as "Cambos" as they seek to find their place in the US as a fairly unique population. The struggle to understand this is best understood in a quote from a Cambodian American young woman in the story "Three Women of Chuck's Donuts" : "What does it mean to be Khmer, anyway? How does one know what is and is not Khmer? Have most Khmer people always known, deep down, that they're Khmer? Are there feelings Khmer people experience that other's don't?" Also, at least half of the stories feature LGBTGQ characters, and their fight for acceptance within a culture that shuns their sexual orientation.

I felt that some of the stories were a little too long and sometimes almost overdone, but in all, this book offers a very edifying and necessary read.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC. The opinions expressed below are my own and unbiased.

Both of my top reads so far this year have been books of short stories, and this is one of them. From the second I picked it up, I was drawn in by So's excellent writing.

I really love interlocking short stories, and this is a very well done attempt. At first I didn't even realize how connected all the characters were, but as I got further into the book it was revealed. These stories are so well-written and engaging. They give the reader a greater understanding of some facets of the Cambodian (Khmer) immigrant experience. I found all the characters to be very real and often quite entertaining.

I was so sad to find out that the author had died only last month at such a young age. I was really looking forward to reading more of his work.

I can't wait till this one comes out so I can page through a physical copy. It took me a while to catch on to the fact that these stories are linked, but once I realized that, I was hooked. I was suddenly able to zoom out and get the big picture while at the same time focusing on the details. And the details! So wonderfully chosen. Each story's characters and world feel fully formed without being overwhelming. That's a fine line to walk in any writing, but especially in short fiction. Truly a wonderful collection.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

Afterparties reminds me of Drown by Junot Diaz, his first collection of short stories. Both were written by young, talented writers wrestling to get control of their talents, pinning their ideas into quicksilver stories. They are the kind of collections that book reviewers will call “electric” and “gritty” which are codewords for, “young people of color writing about sex, drugs, and young people bristling against their elders.”

Anthony Veasna So was a Cambodian-American writer, a descendant of a country whose entire educated and artistic class was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge. His voice is a rare and vital inclusion into the contemporary catalogue.

The first half of the collection fell flat for me. The cultural valley between the narrators and their parents--often those who had escaped the Khmer Rouge genocide--presents us with nothing that hasn’t been written before by immigrant writers. Veasna So was under no obligation to mine this grief for an American audience, but the references he did make were glancing or predictable.

The tone didn’t coalesce for me either. The actions were exaggerated and jokes clever, enticing us to laugh at the flat characters and their ridiculous characterizations. Some of the cultural references were outdated, other times trying to be cool, and occasionally they came across as painfully forced. Was this satire? Sitcom humor? Generic slang? For each sparkling line, there were several others that needed to be cut.

The second half of the collection is stronger, however, starting with the story entitled “The Shop.” We get messy sex and stunted expectations, coming to terms with the limits of a relationship while decoding how family members view you. As Veasna So assumes narrators closer to his own age and perspective (or so it seems) the stories find momentum and purpose. The tensions between generations are cracked open and he sifts through shards with more clarity and insight.

A great talent, still blossoming, leaves us enticed and pondering what he could have written in his lifetime.

A deliciously fun short story collection that is emotive and inspiring at the same time. So has such a unique voice, I can't wait to see what comes from them next. This was such a visceral experience that really encapsulated LA while giving me insight into a community I wasn't familiar with before. Incredible.

During the pandemic I have found myself unable to stick to short story collections, even though they used to be one of my favorite forms of storytelling. Luckily for me, this was a collection I could stick to. Anthony Veasna So writes an honest and vulnerable group of stories based on the lives of Cambodian-Americans living in California. There are recurring characters, which for me helped the stories feel jointed together and kept me interested. So's writing is truly gorgeous; it is witty and smart and emotional. The loss of So's voice in future works is devastating; this is a piece to revisit and reflect upon.

Cambodian American writer Anthony Veasna So's stories are brilliantly written. He has a talent for bringing in the reader quickly and efficiently to the lives and worlds of the characters - a special treat for avid readers of short story genre. This is a side of Asian America that we do not get to see very often, vividly rendered and without unnecessary explanation or defense. It's such a shame that we lost this author before we could see the full potential of his work.

I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

I find it particularly devastating that So did not live to see and hold and touch this debut collection in his hands, or that he could need read all the rave reviews this book will undoubtedly receive. I first learned of his work one day walking through the forest during the pandemic. I was listening to The NYer fiction podcast and heard his story Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts. It was so astute so clever so fun, so sensitive. So many wonderful lines like “His face wears an expression full of those mixed-up emotions that only adults feel, plaintive, say, or wretched.”

4 stars.

I absolutely loved reading these short stories on the children of refugee. As a first generation child of immigrants myself, I found myself nodding along with them as they struggle to understand their new and ever- changing identity. My personally favorite story was The Shop. I felt the sheer rawness in that story the most from the author. I was a big fan of the LGBTQ representation - too often the topic of homophobia in POC communities is hidden. I liked that it was written in a way that allowed for hope and the future for the youths.

The stories range from humor to heartbreaking, but at their very most always impact making. There was a whole world I was drawn into with this book, and I crave for more. I loved how the stories would connect with each other, in a way that felt authentic. There was always the overarching themes of community and family connections. Additionally trauma and the impact that has going down generations. The book explains through stories the impact that undealt with trauma can impact the future generations and the work that goes into breaking and healing from it.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Just now, as I Googled Anthony Veasna So, I was reminded that he died very recently. I had read his obituary in the New York Times, but it wasn't till now that I made the connection between him and this collection of short stories I got off of NetGalley. The death of a young person is always tragic, and his immense talent adds insult to injury. What a devastating loss.
This collection is about Cambodian-American young people and beautifully captures everyday conflicts and concerns along with deeply felt trauma. The reminder of genocide is never far, and yet it doesn't explicitly deal with it. As the memory of this trauma hovers, the characters also cope with socioeconomic stress, racism, homophobia, family drama, and so much more. There is copious sarcasm, but also a (sometimes) grudging respect towards the traditions and spirituality from the place from which their families fled. The characters straddle a thick line between past and present, and yet the stories all normalize this experience. Anyone who grew up bicultural will have at least a little familiarity with the feelings evoked by reading this book.

this is a seriously well-written collection of short stories. it features the stories and livelihoods of first-generation Cambodian Americans, a very much overlooked and ignored community in the media, and the history of war and genocide that haunts them. i love this perspective, highlighting not the war or genocide itself, but its aftermath that affects not just those who lived through it, but those who carry it through stories, through genes, an inherited trauma. the author deftly presents all the ways in which the trauma of the war is manifested in the children of survivors, and he does well in showcasing the conflict and generational difference that arises between Cambodian immigrants and their American children. i also loved the accentuating of queer stories, the intersectionality of being queer as a Cambodian American. each story is thoroughly fleshed out, with characters that are so well developed, despite them being short stories. i enjoyed how some of the stories crossed over on each other as if no amount of separation can cut one off from the trauma that is inherited through one's family. the author's writing flows comfortably and is comedic yet emphathic at the same time. dark yet tender. overall, this was a great time.

favorite stories were "Three Women of Chuck's Donuts", "Superking Son Scores Again", "Somaly Serey, Serey Somaly", and "Generational Differences".

also. afterparties is the perfect fuckin title for a collection of short stories about inherited trauma in first-generation americans. aftermath. afterparties. perfect. it doesn't get better than that.

I wasn't expecting much when I started reading this book, but I enjoyed the stories and the perspective within Afterparties. The author has a very strong voice and well developed and thought-out characters. It was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it.

Thank you to Ecco Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available Aug 3rd 2021.

After the untimely passing of Anthony Veasna So, I was reading "Three Women's of Chuck's Diner" in honor of this great literary talent. After just one paragraph, I was hooked. The complexity of the mother Sothy and her daughters Kayley and Tevy, their tragic and comedic relationships with their missing father figure, the gorgeous descriptions of the character's psyches completely blew me away.

I loved so much about "Afterparties" - the intervening, interconnected stories of a dysfunctional community, the constant presence of donuts, the way Veasna So is able to evoke a sense of longing and homeland without ever essentializing or tokenizing Cambodian Americans. Instead, it's a delicate musing on life and love, on filial duty and obligations, on surviving and thriving. What a legacy to leave behind.

Memorable quotes
"Tevy wonders if her mother has ever loved someone romantically, if her mother is even capable of reaching beyond the realm of survival, if her mother has ever been granted any freedom from worry, and if her mother's present carries the ability to dilate, for even a brief moment, into its own plane of suspended existence, separate from past or future." - Three Women of Chuck's Donuts.

"Gay, Cambodian, and not even twenty-six, carrying in my body the aftermath of war, genocide, colonialism. And yet, my task was to teach kids a decade younger, existing across an oceanic difference, what it means to be human. How absurd, I admitted. How fucking hilarious. I was actually excited."

"When you think about my history, I don't need you to see everything at once. I don't need you to recall those tragedies that were dropped into my world. Honestly, you don't even have to try. What is nuance in the face of all that we've experienced? But for me, your mother, just remember that, for better or worse, we can be described as survivors. Okay? Know that we've always kept on living. What else could we have done?"

Afterparties is a collection of short stories written about Cambodian Americans living in the US. They have to navigate through the past, cultural, and current issues. I learned about their culture, food, and beliefs. It was definitely an interesting read.

Great diverse and compelling stories! They're enjoyable and thought-provoking and left me wanting to read more!
Many thanks to Ecco Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy!

It's rare that a short story collection gets me as engaged and interested, or feels as cohesive to me, as this collection does. It's really amazing how So manages to consistently (and with really only one exception) pull off the short story hat trick: establishing characters quickly, keeping the story moving in an interesting direction (i.e. none of the stories are too samey in their plot), and delivering a satisfying ending. I was genuinely pulled in to all the stories here, and liked seeing how So dealt with the overarching theme of being a young Cambodian living in the shadow of the older generation's trauma in a variety of ways.

The only story I have to say didn't feel like it jibed was the last one: it was a little too on-the-nose (that spiel about Michael Jackson, especially), and a little less honed than the others, but maybe it's the newest? Apart from that, my only other issue was that there were times when So's writing would break down a bit on the sentence level, leaving at least one part of each story only semi-decipherable. But the other elements of the stories were so strong that that would only break the flow a little, and I would still definitely recommend this book and definitely read whatever So puts out next.

This book is a collection of short stories based on the Cambodian- American immigrant experience. I found it eye opening and interesting. I did have trouble connecting with some of the characters but it seems an important perpective to tell.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to enjoy Afterparties.
Afterparties explores the lives of many Combodia living in California's Central Valley. Each story you meet a new character and explore their struggles,joy and life.
It was refreshing and interesting to read about the Cambodian American life as I feel it is under represented within literature. Like many stories of immigrants in America there is sorrow, Anthony Veasna So does a wonderful job intertwining humor in with the sorrow to make this an delightful, informative read.

Afterparties is a collection of short stories, each of which provides a comprehensive snapshot of the lives of Cambodian-Americans living in California. As children of refugees, they contend with the complexities of identity, race, sexuality, friendship, and family, while also having to carry the burden of intergenerational trauma from the Khmer Rouge genocide. Anthony Veasna So writes with raw honesty and a heartfelt authenticity that brings his characters to life, and the stories are in turns humorous and heartbreaking. While reading I felt transported, looking on as though witnessing and experiencing the events through my own senses. Another detail I enjoyed from the collection was how many of the stories were interwoven, including recurring characters–this emphasized the theme of community and family. My personal favorites from the collection were Three Women of Chuck's Donuts, The Shop, Human Development, and Somaly Serey, Serey Somaly.

CWs/TWs: sexual content, domestic violence/abuse, school shooting, death of parents/family members, cheating, alcohol, drugs, addiction

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This title will be released August 3rd, 2021.

This is a truly excellent and special short story collection. The perspectives and storylines are unique and necessary and the craft level is great. From the opening, it took me a little while to warm up to the voice and flow of the stories, but once I got into it, I was hooked and read the book in one day. My favorite stories involved gay characters and queer sexuality, but other well-done themes included intergenerational trauma, socioeconomic divides, and elder care. I was really moved and impressed by this book and am excited to read what the writer comes out with next.