Anthony Veasna So
Anthony Veasna So was a short story author who was born and raised in Northern California. So's debut novel Afterparties: Stories contains a collection of short stories that provide glimpses into the lives of Cambodian Americans in which he highlights the complexities of family, friendship, race, and sexuality; he displayed the intricacies of finding balance between carving a new life in America and understanding Cambodian heritage after the Khmer Rouge genocide. So passed away in December 2020, just before Afterparties: Stories was released.
Angkorwat Art store in Little Phnom Penh, Long Beach, California
Photographer: Anne Frank
Date: 2004
Auto parts store in Little Phnom Penh, Long Beach, California
Photographer: Anne Frank
Date: 2004
Anthony Veasna So details the daily lives of Cambodian immigrants in Afterparties. His stories "Three Women of Chuck's Donuts" and "The Shop" provide little glimpses into the lives of Cambodian business owners and how they work to prosper in the face of adversity.
So's story "Three Women of Chuck's Donuts" highlight the prominence of donut shops in the Cambodian American community. Running a donut shop was pivotal to the livelihoods of many Cambodian Americans.
Cambodian immigrant Ted Ngoy played a significant role in sponsoring many Cambodian immigrants and setting them up with a donut business to help them build their livelihoods in America.
Right: Trailer from the documentary The Donut King (2020) on Ted Ngoy and his impact on the Cambodian American community and the donut business.
"When you think about my history, I don't need you to see everything at once. I don't need you to recall the details of those tragedies that were dropped into my world. Honestly, you don't even have to try. What is nuance in the face of all that we've experienced? But for me, your mother, just remember that, for better or worse, we can be described as survivors. Okay? Know that we've always kept on living. What else could we have done?"
~ Anthony Veasna So, Afterparties: Stories (2021)
Khmer Society of Fresno Refugee Day booth
Photographer: Anne Frank
Date: 2004
United Cambodian Community building, Long Beach, California
Photographer: Anne Frank
Date: 2004
In So's final story in Afterparties titled "Generational Differences," readers understand the pain, grief, and burden Cambodian refugees faced after the Khmer Rouge; it is in this story that readers get the clearest view of the trauma experienced by these refugees and how, through it all, they became survivors.
So's novel Afterparties featured a collection of stories from Cambodian individuals; others have done so in a similar manner through collecting oral histories of Cambodian immigrants. See the collection "Cambodians in California: Nine Oral Histories in One Volume" created by Kitty W. Shek here.
Right: Other oral history collections such as Displaced Lives: Stories of Life and Culture from the Khmer in Site II, Thailand. See the full oral history collection here.
Anthony Veasna So will have a second novel released in 2023 titled Straight Outta Cambotown. This will be his second novel published posthumously, after his first novel Afterparties: Stories.
Right: Anthony Veasna So reading an excerpt from Straight Outta Cambotown (originally titled Straight Thru Cambotown).