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Afterparties

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About this listen

Seamlessly transitioning between the absurd and the tender-hearted, balancing acerbic humour 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.

With nuanced emotional precision, gritty humour and compassionate insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities, the stories in Afterparties deliver an explosive introduction to the work of Anthony Veasna So.

©2021 Anthony Veasna So (P)2021 W F Howes Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction World Literature

Critic reviews

“A stunning collection from an exciting new voice.” (Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half)

“A bright and fearless debut, full of heart, joy and unforgettable characters.” (Douglas Stuart)

“I was in awe through the entire collection - and you will be, too. Afterparties is an actual marvel." (Bryan Washington, author of Lot and Memorial)
All stars
Most relevant
Pauses in all the long places, robotic voice, not clear pronunciation. Such a pity because the book is really good.

Narrator is terrible

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this truelly sounds like it has been computer generated. really disappointing as the 1st story was good but I had to give up

terrible performance - sounds like it is automated

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I really enjoyed listing to this collection of stories about Cambodian immigrants in America. I also thought the reader brought the stories to life with a juvenile tone well suited to many of the characters featured in the novel.

A beautiful collection of short stories

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Please could you get a non-automised voice to read? I didn’t enjoy it. A pity because the stories are rather enjoyable.

Such a bad voiceover

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