Songs on Endless Repeat
 | |
| Author | Anthony Veasna So |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Ecco Press |
Publication date | December 5, 2023 |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 978-0063049963 |
| Preceded by | Afterparties |
Songs on Endless Repeat is a 2023 posthumous collection of essays and fiction by American writer Anthony Veasna So, published by Ecco Press. It includes a foreword by Jonathan Dee, So's former advisor at the Syracuse University MFA program.
Contents
[edit]Songs on Endless Repeat includes essays that originally appeared in other publications. "Journey to a Land Free of White People" and "Baby Yeah" appeared in N+1.[1][2] "Manchester Street" appeared in Ninth Letter.[3] "Duplex" appeared in The New Yorker.[4] "The Millions" appeared in The Millions.[5] The book also includes unpublished and unfinished fiction, including parts of So's unfinished novel, Straight Thru Cambotown, which had been So's graduate thesis at Syracuse University.[6]
Critical reception
[edit]In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote that "It seems impossible to read these excerpts without wishing for more—from these characters, from this narrative, for this author."[7] Also in a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the book a "magnificent posthumous collection" and "a bittersweet testament to an astounding talent."[8]
The New York Times wrote that the book has "the same crisp humor and edgy vulnerability that made his first an instant best seller."[9] Electric Literature wrote that "So inched his Californian Cambodian characters not just closer to some kind of immortality, but into the world itself."[10] The Chicago Review of Books said it "displays the same irresistible combination of sensitivity, humor, and anger that defined So’s earlier work, but it also shows him expanding in new directions."[11] The Star Tribune lauded the unfinished Straight Thru Cambotown as having "brilliant, hilarious, at times profane and always whip-smart" prose.[12] Los Angeles Times commended So's humor, as well as how he "captures, with effortless eloquence, the double-bind of being an Asian American."[13]
The book made several recommended lists, including in The Boston Globe,[14] Alta Journal,[15] Datebook,[16] and The Los Angeles Times.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ So, Anthony Veasna (September 14, 2018). "Journey to a Land Free of White People". n+1. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ So, Anthony Veasna (March 5, 2021). "Baby Yeah". n+1. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ So, Anthony Veasna (August 11, 2016). "Manchester Street". Ninth Letter. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ So, Anthony Veasna (July 5, 2021). ""Duplex," a Posthumous Essay by Anthony Veasna So". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ So, Anthony Veasna (December 24, 2020). "A Year in Reading: Anthony Veasna So". The Millions. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ So, Anthony Veasna (December 5, 2023). Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes. Ecco Press. ISBN 978-0063049963.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Songs on Endless Repeat". Kirkus Reviews. October 1, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ "Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes by Anthony Veasna So". Publishers Weekly. September 26, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Egan, Elisabeth (December 8, 2023). "Breathing Life Into the Everlasting Words of Anthony Veasna So". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ Jansma, Kristopher (January 11, 2024). "How Anthony Veasna So's Unfinished Novel "Straight Thru Cambotown" Became a Collection". Electric Literature. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Kubis, Dan (December 6, 2023). "Difference in Repetition: "Songs on Endless Repeat"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Chai, May-lee (December 8, 2023). "Even unfinished, works in 'Songs on Endless Repeat' are not to be missed". The Star Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Feng, Rhoda (December 4, 2023). "Rising-star author Anthony Veasna So died at 28. Now you can read his unfinished novel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Feng, Rhoda; LeBlanc, Lauren; Lin, Francie (August 24, 2023). "Here are 20 books we're excited to read this fall". Boston Globe. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ "10 New Books for December". Alta Journal. November 30, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Bae, Hannah. "These new books could be some of the best reads of 2024". Datebook. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Patrick, Bethanne (November 29, 2023). "10 books to add to your reading list in December". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 29, 2024.