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asianamlitfansWritten by Stephen Hong Sohn
Edited by Lina Jiang
Anthony Veasna So’s Afterparties: Stories (Ecco, 2021) was absolutely on the highest priority for me in terms of reading. I had anticipated this work because there are so few Cambodian American writers (at least that I have read). This work does not disappoint. Let’s let the official marketing description do some work for us: “A vibrant story collection about Cambodian-American life—immersive and comic, yet unsparing—that offers profound insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities Seamlessly transitioning between the absurd and the tenderhearted, balancing acerbic humor with sharp emotional depth, Afterparties offers an expansive portrait of the lives of Cambodian-Americans. As the children of refugees carve out radical new paths for themselves in California, they shoulder the inherited weight of the Khmer Rouge genocide and grapple with the complexities of race, sexuality, friendship, and family. A high school badminton coach and failing grocery store owner tries to relive his glory days by beating a rising star teenage player. Two drunken brothers attend a wedding afterparty and hatch a plan to expose their shady uncle’s snubbing of the bride and groom. A queer love affair sparks between an older tech entrepreneur trying to launch a ‘safe space’ app and a disillusioned young teacher obsessed with Moby-Dick. And in the sweeping final story, a nine-year-old child learns that his mother survived a racist school shooter.”
I’ll spend some time focusing on a handful of the stories, but I wanted to say the uniqueness of the tone makes this collection really impressive. I can only compare the collection to Jenny Zhang’s Sour Heart, which masters a mixture of poignancy, dark humor, amid the complications of the immigrant experience. The opening story, “Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts,” explores what occurs when a strange man continually shows up at a donut shop, always leaving behind an uneaten apple fritter. Who is this man and why is he showing up? This story is particularly striking for its unique consideration of the gendered nature of diasporic experiences. “The Shop” was one of my favorites, as it explores what the pressures that face a young Cambodian American man, as he returns home after college, to figure out what direction he should take in life. “Human Development” was another standout, as it explores the same-sex relationship between two Cambodian American men in San Francisco. This story really conveys the complexities of the Cambodian American experiences, as the older of the two gentlemen really takes ethnic pride to another level. “Generational Differences” ends the collection and focuses on the incredible divergence between those that lived through the genocide and those raised primarily in the United States, who grow up in that aftermath. The sophistication of these stories is always evident: so is meticulous in the level of characterization and perspective. It’s certainly a collection I will teach in the future. For those that may have been following this debut author, you will know that he passed away tragically just before the publication of Afterparties.
Buy the Book Here
Edited by Lina Jiang
Anthony Veasna So’s Afterparties: Stories (Ecco, 2021) was absolutely on the highest priority for me in terms of reading. I had anticipated this work because there are so few Cambodian American writers (at least that I have read). This work does not disappoint. Let’s let the official marketing description do some work for us: “A vibrant story collection about Cambodian-American life—immersive and comic, yet unsparing—that offers profound insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities Seamlessly transitioning between the absurd and the tenderhearted, balancing acerbic humor with sharp emotional depth, Afterparties offers an expansive portrait of the lives of Cambodian-Americans. As the children of refugees carve out radical new paths for themselves in California, they shoulder the inherited weight of the Khmer Rouge genocide and grapple with the complexities of race, sexuality, friendship, and family. A high school badminton coach and failing grocery store owner tries to relive his glory days by beating a rising star teenage player. Two drunken brothers attend a wedding afterparty and hatch a plan to expose their shady uncle’s snubbing of the bride and groom. A queer love affair sparks between an older tech entrepreneur trying to launch a ‘safe space’ app and a disillusioned young teacher obsessed with Moby-Dick. And in the sweeping final story, a nine-year-old child learns that his mother survived a racist school shooter.”
I’ll spend some time focusing on a handful of the stories, but I wanted to say the uniqueness of the tone makes this collection really impressive. I can only compare the collection to Jenny Zhang’s Sour Heart, which masters a mixture of poignancy, dark humor, amid the complications of the immigrant experience. The opening story, “Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts,” explores what occurs when a strange man continually shows up at a donut shop, always leaving behind an uneaten apple fritter. Who is this man and why is he showing up? This story is particularly striking for its unique consideration of the gendered nature of diasporic experiences. “The Shop” was one of my favorites, as it explores what the pressures that face a young Cambodian American man, as he returns home after college, to figure out what direction he should take in life. “Human Development” was another standout, as it explores the same-sex relationship between two Cambodian American men in San Francisco. This story really conveys the complexities of the Cambodian American experiences, as the older of the two gentlemen really takes ethnic pride to another level. “Generational Differences” ends the collection and focuses on the incredible divergence between those that lived through the genocide and those raised primarily in the United States, who grow up in that aftermath. The sophistication of these stories is always evident: so is meticulous in the level of characterization and perspective. It’s certainly a collection I will teach in the future. For those that may have been following this debut author, you will know that he passed away tragically just before the publication of Afterparties.
Buy the Book Here
