afterparties: Stories, by Anthony Veasna So

Anthony Veasna So's impressive debut collection of short stories.

Afterparties is the fictional debut of Cambodian-American writer Anthony Veasna So. Comprising of nine short stories, So describes the lives of those lucky enough to escape Pol Pot's genocide and come to America to build new lives. While the stories concentrate mostly on So's generation, the children of survivors, the Cambodian genocide hangs heavily in the background, a miasma that infects everything.

In “Three Women of Chuck's Donuts”, a mother who runs a donut store with her two daughters deals with a mysterious returning customer, a man who questions their Cambodian ethnicity; an eccentric convenience store manager works as a badminton coach to a group of irrepressible youths in “Superking Son Scores Again”; “We Would've Been Princes!” describes two brothers dealing with family squabbles at a wedding; and “Human Development” takes a wry look at Silicon Valley's start-up culture through the prism of a precarious gay relationship. The deeply affecting final story, “Generational Differences”, is narrated by a mother who was a teacher at the Cleveland Elementary School Shooting in 1989, where a white gunman shot and killed five Southeast Asian Children.

So writes carefully constructed personal histories in his stories, but keeps his dialogue street smart and realistic. His characters are mostly young adults, struggling with sex, identity and the psychological legacy of the Cambodian genocide. While that may sound heavy going, So weaves a lot of comedy and light-heartedness through his fiction. The girls are sassy and whip-smart, while the boys, on the make and hustling their way, are endearing nonetheless. These are people you feel you've met before.

Tragically, Anthony Veasna So died of an accidental drug overdose in 2020, before Afterparties was released. He was 28 years of age. Another collection of So's writing is due out in 2023, including fragments of a novel he was working on.
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An important slice of youthful Cambodian-American life, told with humour and humanity. This substantial collection is sure to be celebrated for a long time to come.

Afterparties: Stories, by Anthony Veasna So. Grove Press. $29.99

​Review by Chris Saliba

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