The Affirming Aspirations of Anthony Veasna So

At On the Seawall, Hamilton Cain examines the ghosts that haunt Afterparties, the beautifully crafted short story collection by the late Anthony Veasna So. “So writes with grace and panache; his characters leap off the page,” Cain says. “Walmarts, side jobs, SAT prep: these conventions open the door to better lives, mystically affirming aspirations born out of torture chambers and totalitarian purges. In this regard, Afterparties bears a kinship with an emerging generation of writers grappling with genocides in the former Yugoslavia, among them Sara Nović, Pajtim Statovci, and Saša Stanišić.”