Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ebook. A fascinating book of stories that show the first generation of California’s Cambodian Americans as the try and deal with the genocide that their parents fled and this new land that doesn’t always seem made for them. The young author’s passing is a tragedy. It would have been so exciting to look forward to another forty years of this smart writer’s tales.

Wasn't a fan. I, unfortunately, didn't finish the book. There was nothing that really drew me in or kept me intrigued enough to continue.

Many years after the raving reviews, I finally was able to read Afterparties. I appreciated the voice of a group of people I haven't read directly but felt that the disconnected stories didn't stay with me after completion. There were interesting people described, but not being of the community, I am unsure about some of his ideas. These are all my own thoughts with thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this title.

I hadn't read anything before this about Cambodian-Americans. The short stories contained what I would assume is an accurate portrayal of them. So also did a great job portraying both male and female main characters which is sometimes difficult for authors when they traverse the gender lines.
There was only one short story I didn't care for, "We Would Have Been Princes!" The character descriptors were capitalized, which was distracting for me.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

When I read about So's passing I was so sad! Knowing that he would never know how amazing his book is and how well it was received. I'm a sucker for short stories, and Afterparties did not disappoint. Generational immigrant stories always hit close to home for me and each story in this collection was absolutely outstanding.

I read a few of these stories and liked them, but was never drawn back to finish the collection. The authors voice is sentimental and sweet (in a good way). I liked what I read but not enough to fnish.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the ARC of Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. After many attempts to read this, I was not able to get into this one. The LGBTQ themes and learning more about the Cambodian-American perspective was appealing to me when selecting this book. However, the short story format making up the book challenged me to stick with it.

This would be a great read for some one who enjoys collections of short stories.

DNF. This was not for me at all. Didn’t even make it through the first story. The prose were not well written and I struggled to keep interest.

This book was hard for me to get into so much so that I ended up getting the audiobook in order to finish it. The late Anthony Veasana So gave vignettes into the lives of Cambodian-Americans in a unique way, but perhaps that's what lost me, I wish we saw more character development or more story arches rather than snippets. Each character felt like they were holding back how they really felt but maybe that was the point and each story ended as if it was missing a final chapter. Some stories did stand out more than others such as the first one about a family running a late-night donut shop. I would still recommend this book if you want to reach short stories about Cambodian-Americans and I want to give this another try with a physical copy to see if I read it differently.

I was drawn in by the gorgeous colors of this cover, and the description of stories about the life of Cambodian Americans really intrigued me.

This was an interesting collection of stories all detailing the lives of Cambodian Americans in California and the generational trauma of refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge.

Collections of short stories are always a little hit and miss for me. The first story immediately drew me in about a family that owned a donut shop and a mysterious patron. I really loved the story The Shop detailing a father and son relationship that I loved. And then the last one really broke my heart as it deals with a parent recollecting a school shooting. So has a particular talent for making characters that are so vivid and real. Even as there are parts where I smiled and laughed, we can also feel the grief permeating the stories as each generation tries to deal with their particular burdens; escaping genocide and building new lives in an entirely foreign country.

Overall, I wasn't particulary interested in the graphic depictions of sex, but that's more a personal thing than about the quality of the writing.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Really enjoyed this and was even more touched by the fact that this was Anthony's last publication. Truly lost a great storyteller.

This was not the book for me. It is a series of essays written from the perspective of a Cambodian American. It is a lot of sex and drugs and teen angst. I am sure this appeals to someone, but I am not in that camp.

Afterparties is such a poignant collection that captures unique experience after experience. I appreciated every word this book gave and it was an absolute pleasure to be able to take in such an important and diverse read.

This collection of short stories is a fascinating view into the world of Cambodian refugees in the Central Valley of California after fleeing the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge. Told from multiple characters, the stories give insight into what it was like for a child growing up with parents who survived, queer teenagers/young adults, and more. I found the book to be somewhat of a slow burn but it was also interesting and heavy and powerful.

this short story collection was everything i ever wanted. it touched upon so many topics that i could relate to. If anyone has doubts about reading this, you should i highly recommended

I really enjoyed this book of short stories and that they were loosely connected. I don't read short stories often but this one was definitely the way to go! I learned a lot but also enjoyed all of the character's lives and struggles.

What a gorgeous, deeply affecting collection.

So's writing is wild, and each story felt like it had its own particular language. I had my favorites, but taken as a whole the collection truly sparkles.

Thanks so much for the e-galley.

“I know something about disorientation. I understand how it feels to live with a past that defies logic.”

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: AFTERPARTIES is mind-blowingly good. It’s a collection of immersive, sharply-observed stories of Cambodian-Americans living life in California’s Central Valley. The varied cast of characters - a high school badminton team, the family that runs a donut shop, car mechanics, a nurse in a dementia ward - exists under the shadow of one country’s genocide and another’s recession and racism, carving out a space for themselves that is fraught, beautiful, and uniquely their own. It’s darkly funny and melancholy at the same time; some of the stories have an almost slapstick quality to them, a comedic surface with a roiling, gnawing grief beneath. We see how the violence of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge is carried on to second and third generations, refracted through the tales from elders and chiding from parents, kept alive and aching in the community’s memory and everyday life. There’s several stories centered on messy, discontented queers that ring so true. The author himself was a queer Cambodian-American, and you can feel his complex affection for his community radiating from every single page. The stunning, emotional last chapter, followed by reading the acknowledgements knowing that the author had died, had me in tears. This is one of my all-time favorite short story collections. Thanks to Ecco Books for the review copy!

“Know that we’ve always kept on living. What else could we have done?”

Content warnings: violence, blood/injury, mentions of suicide

The genre categories for this book are LGBTQIA, Literary Fiction, and Multicultural interest. I was immediately intrigued by all three of those, because that sounds like the perfect book for me. I was even more excited to discover that it was a book of short stories! The stories handle generational trauma for Cambodian Americans in such a well-done, sensitive way. Parts of it were funny, parts were deeply sad, and often it was both at the same time. I only wish that the author was still alive so we would get to read more of his work.

This funny, important and heartfelt story collection just won the John Leonard Prize from the National Book Critics Circle for a 2021 first book. As a Leonard judge and reader, I am glad to see So win this, and sad that it goes out posthumously. Hope lots of readers discover it.