Following interconnected (primarily gay) Cambodian Americans in California, AFTERPARTIES is a phenomenal short story collection that explores identity, sexuality, and the complexity of the Cambodian diaspora. So skillfully weaves together stories that range from hilarious to heart-wrenching, tackling themes of isolation and generational trauma.

The characters grapple with the intersectionality of their identities, feeling uprooted due to their skin color, refugee backgrounds, and queerness. What does it mean to be Cambodian? What does it mean to be human? These questions serve as powerful threads throughout the book.

The humor and sarcasm infused into the storytelling provide a unique lens through which the characters confront their struggles. The explicit nature of some passages, bordering on NSFW, drives home the raw, visceral emotions that underlie the characters' experiences. It's a bold choice that pays off, hitting close to the heart and evoking a range of emotions from laughter to tears.

All of the stories are poignant and powerful; a couple of standouts are:

• The Three Women of Chuck's Donuts: exemplifies the complex relationships women have with the men in their lives, ultimately finding that these men are inconsequential in the grander scheme of their own narratives

• Maly, Maly, Maly: delves into the challenges of coming of age, exploring sexuality, and the loneliness that accompanies self-discovery

• The Shop: dissects the model minority myth, highlighting the superficial nature of performative activism. "Off-brand Asians with brown skin" is one of my favorite phrases that is hilarious yet brutally honest

• We Would've Been Princes!: captures the aftermath of the genocide, depicting the varied fates of Cambodian refugees. It paints a vivid picture of longing for home and the pervasive sense of loneliness accompanying displacement
• Human Development: critiques the belief that technology can solve fundamental human issues and brilliantly retorts Bay Area wokeness. The relationship between two Cambo gay men explores ethnicity & race through divergent lenses, offering a nuanced perspective on diversity

• Somaly Serely, Serely Somaly: a heartbreaking exploration of generational trauma. The narratives skillfully navigate the delicate balance between remembering the struggles of the past and not being drowned by grief & loss

• Generational Trauma: the last in the collection and my fav. It explores similar themes as Somaly Serely, Sererly Somaly, but from an elder's perspective who escaped the Khmer genocide but witnessed another unspeakable violence in the US. "When you think about my history, I don't need you to see everything at once… what else could we have done?" This final quote made me sob so much

Afterparties is a rollercoaster that starts with laughter and ends with tears—a literary gem that challenges the conventions of storytelling while celebrating the richness of diverse experiences & possibly my fav short stories of the year