Afterparties

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLES JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST BOOKWINNER OF THE FERRO-GRUMLEY AWARD FOR LGBTQ FICTIONNamed a Best Book of the Year by: New York Times * NPR * Washington Post * LA Times * Kirkus Reviews * New York Public Library * Chicago Public Library * Harpers Bazaar * TIME * Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air * Boston Globe* The AtlanticA vibrant story collection about Cambodian-American lifeimmersive and comic, yet unsparingthat offers profound insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communitiesSeamlessly transitioning between the absurd and the tenderhearted, balancing acerbic humor with sharp emotional depth,Afterpartiesoffers 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 uncles 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 withMoby-Dick. And in the sweeping final story, a nine-year-old child learns that his mother survived a racist school shooter.The stories in Afterparties, powered by Sos skill with the telling detail, are like beams of wry, affectionate light, falling from different directions on a complicated, struggling, beloved American community (George Saunders).