Genre Fiction
![Steph Cha - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_steph_cha.jpg)
Your House Will Pay: A Novel
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE
"[A] suspense-filled page-turner." -Viet Thanh Nguyen, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Sympathizer
"A touching portrait of two families bound together by a split-second decision." -Attica Locke, Edgar-Award winning author of Bluebird, Bluebird
A Best Book of the Year
Wall Street Journal * Chicago Tribune * Buzzfeed * South Florida Sun-Sentinel * Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel * Book Riot * LitHub
A powerful and taut novel about racial tensions in Los Angeles, following two families-one Korean-American, one African-American-grappling with the effects of a decades-old crime
In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it's been since the unrest of the early 1990s. But Grace Park and Shawn Matthews have their own problems. Grace is sheltered and largely oblivious, living in the Valley with her Korean-immigrant parents, working long hours at the family pharmacy. She's distraught that her sister hasn't spoken to their mother in two years, for reasons beyond Grace's understanding. Shawn has already had enough of politics and protest after an act of violence shattered his family years ago. He just wants to be left alone to enjoy his quiet life in Palmdale.
But when another shocking crime hits LA, both the Park and Matthews families are forced to face down their history while navigating the tumult of a city on the brink of more violence.
"[A] suspense-filled page-turner." -Viet Thanh Nguyen, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Sympathizer
"A touching portrait of two families bound together by a split-second decision." -Attica Locke, Edgar-Award winning author of Bluebird, Bluebird
A Best Book of the Year
Wall Street Journal * Chicago Tribune * Buzzfeed * South Florida Sun-Sentinel * Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel * Book Riot * LitHub
A powerful and taut novel about racial tensions in Los Angeles, following two families-one Korean-American, one African-American-grappling with the effects of a decades-old crime
In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it's been since the unrest of the early 1990s. But Grace Park and Shawn Matthews have their own problems. Grace is sheltered and largely oblivious, living in the Valley with her Korean-immigrant parents, working long hours at the family pharmacy. She's distraught that her sister hasn't spoken to their mother in two years, for reasons beyond Grace's understanding. Shawn has already had enough of politics and protest after an act of violence shattered his family years ago. He just wants to be left alone to enjoy his quiet life in Palmdale.
But when another shocking crime hits LA, both the Park and Matthews families are forced to face down their history while navigating the tumult of a city on the brink of more violence.
Editorial Reviews
"A marvel. Cha finds new angles on a city that has been the focus of myriad stories and films. Unique and totally gripping." - Michael Connelly
"Taut . . . A dramatic page-turner . . . A deep dive into Los Angeles' racial underbelly and tensions. It's a timely book that showcases two cultures and two families forced to confront injustice, enduring anger, and profound loss." - Los Angeles Times
"Impassioned. . . . [Cha] dives so deep into her characters because she believes that communicating their nuances across racial lines is essential. . . . A page-turner." - USA Today
"Intricately structured. . . . A novel rich with incident and social observation." - Wall Street Journal
"A mastery of form, Cha absolutely nails it. . . . It is absolutely brilliant and it keeps the pages turning." - Today Show
"Elegant, suspenseful." - The New York Times Book Review
"A propulsive, well-told, and most important of all, well-researched journey of two families. . . . Cha's writing is memorable and often poetic." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Riveting. . . . Engrossing. . . . Cha unflinchingly delves into the complex emotions that drive families, violence, and the need to survive. Your House Will Pay sets a new high for the talented Cha." - Associated Press
"Compelling and risk-taking. . . . That Cha is drawn to contend with voices that don't strictly represent her cultural heritage, while taking head-on one of the most devastating events in Los Angeles history, is admirable as well as ambitious. Cha is a remarkably generous writer." - Los Angeles Review of Books
"Bracing." - Entertainment Weekly
"This L.A. noir mystery ties past and present together without resorting to easy answers." - Washington Post
" An explosive story of race, identity, and violence." - Bustle
"Focusing on the lives of two Los Angelenos, Cha's crime novel steps back from her usual superb P.I. books to go deeper, examining the tensions between the Korean-American and African-American communities." -
"Taut . . . A dramatic page-turner . . . A deep dive into Los Angeles' racial underbelly and tensions. It's a timely book that showcases two cultures and two families forced to confront injustice, enduring anger, and profound loss." - Los Angeles Times
"Impassioned. . . . [Cha] dives so deep into her characters because she believes that communicating their nuances across racial lines is essential. . . . A page-turner." - USA Today
"Intricately structured. . . . A novel rich with incident and social observation." - Wall Street Journal
"A mastery of form, Cha absolutely nails it. . . . It is absolutely brilliant and it keeps the pages turning." - Today Show
"Elegant, suspenseful." - The New York Times Book Review
"A propulsive, well-told, and most important of all, well-researched journey of two families. . . . Cha's writing is memorable and often poetic." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Riveting. . . . Engrossing. . . . Cha unflinchingly delves into the complex emotions that drive families, violence, and the need to survive. Your House Will Pay sets a new high for the talented Cha." - Associated Press
"Compelling and risk-taking. . . . That Cha is drawn to contend with voices that don't strictly represent her cultural heritage, while taking head-on one of the most devastating events in Los Angeles history, is admirable as well as ambitious. Cha is a remarkably generous writer." - Los Angeles Review of Books
"Bracing." - Entertainment Weekly
"This L.A. noir mystery ties past and present together without resorting to easy answers." - Washington Post
" An explosive story of race, identity, and violence." - Bustle
"Focusing on the lives of two Los Angelenos, Cha's crime novel steps back from her usual superb P.I. books to go deeper, examining the tensions between the Korean-American and African-American communities." -
Readers Top Reviews
gerardpeterTummid
Cha has written a novel of real power, which deserves all the praise it has received. Two communities, two families are set against each other in modern Los Angeles. In Grace and Shawn she has created memorable tragic heroes. Readers should not expect a happy resolution The story begins in 1991 when a black girl, Ava Matthews, is shot dead by a Korean shopkeeper. Justice is not served, leaving a legacy of bitterness, waiting its time. In 2019 there is another shooting. One aspect of the plot is to discover who fired the bullet. The LAPD quickly make their mind up, Black Lives Matter refute them. It falls to Grace and Shawn independently to find the answer. Grace is a Korean pharmacist and dutiful daughter. Shawn is a black removal man, rock of his extended family. Grace is contrasted with her older sister, Miriam, Shawn with his cousin Ray. It is the release of Ray from prison that initiates the fateful cascade. It revives memories of 1991 when Shawn witnessed the killing of Ava – Ava his sister. The author pulls Grace and Shawn together in a way that neither of them plans or desires. It is to them that falls the burden of knowledge, which is what makes this tragedy. The final scenes are played out in a theatrical setting – sirens scream, flags burn, rocks fly and through the smoke they spy each other. Cha is more confident in her descriptions of Korean life, unsurprisingly. But the parallels of family meals, religious life and LA living are well managed. Readers will note the different parts of Brother Vincent and Pastor Kwon, for example. It is really in the detail that the author brings this home. In Othello there is a handkerchief, here it is a Dodgers’ cap - worn by Ava when she dies and later in the novel by Grace. MFA courses cannot teach this. A great LA tragedy.
Barbara Wgerardpe
“Their faces blended together in the quickening dark, but they were young and old, black and white and brown and yellow, a raw hunk of the city, brought together by this one annoying, frustrating woman. They were angry, and she made it easy for them—the racist daughter of a racist killer, a focal point for their fervor. He remembered those six days of violence, fire and havoc wherever he looked, stumbling bodies and stunned, bleeding faces. He watched his city go up in flames, and under the sadness and rage, the exhilaration of rampage, he recognized the sparkle of hope. Rebirth—that was the promise of destruction. The olive branch, the rainbow, the good men spared to rebuild the earth. But where was the new city? And who were the good men?” The book (fiction but based on real events) is about 2 families, of 2 ethnicities and how the struggles of racism, violence and injustice impacts both families living in South Central LA. The story begin at the time of Rodney King Riots in 1991 and moves to 2019 as the family matures and continues to suffer. Eye opening. The sad part, not much has changed during that time. Still sadness and rage and hope for the rebirth, the olive branch, the rainbow.
carolynfromozBarb
Steph Cha’s fictional novel is based on two events that sparked racial tensions in LA. The first was the brutal beating of Rodney King and the riots in 1992 that followed the acquittal of the LAPD officers responsible and the second was the 1991 shooting of a black teenage girl, Latasha Harlins by a Korean woman. In this fictional tale of racial tension between African Americans and Korean Americans, the shooting of a black teenager, Ava Matthews, in 1991 has repercussions down the years and into the next generation for both families. Twenty eight years on from her death, LA is once again tense after yet another shooting of an unarmed black teenager by the LAPD and the protests in the streets that followed. While Ava’s family and that of the person who shot her have both moved forward as they get on with their lives, it seems that not much has changed in all that time, and Ava’s death still feels unavenged to her community. This is a powerful story, especially at this time when the Black Lives Matter movement has become so prominent in calling out for equality and justice for all. By telling the story from the viewpoints of both families it gives us an intimate insight into their lives and the way they see events from their side of the racial divide. With religious and racial divisions and unrest rife around the world, it is so important to keep writing and thinking about these issues.
CHWcarolynfromozB
Steph Cha brings together the two worlds of the Black community meets immigrant Korean community. The judgments, misunderstandings, social justice perspectives leave 2 dead across the decades. Both unnecessary passings. Her characters are well developed and engaging. Looking forward to reading her other works!
Sandra Iler Kirkl
This timely novel concerns the lives of two families in Los Angeles and how their lives intersect. The Matthews family is an African-American family. Shawn and his sister came to live with his aunt and his cousin Ray when their parents were unavailable. Shawn grew up considering Ray his brother. Now Ray is coming out of prison after a long stretch and Shawn is hoping to help him navigate the transition he made himself after some prison time. Their lives were changed forever when Shawn's sister was killed in an incident in a convenience store. The Park family have Korean heritage. Grace is the daughter who still lives at home and who is a pharmacist at the family store. She has a sister who lives in the heart of Los Angeles and is estranged from the family, especially their mother. When Grace leaves the store one night with her mother and the mother is gunned down in front of Grace, everything changes. It is touch and go whether her mother will make it but she survives. As she is recuperating in the hospital, the family secret comes out. Grace's mother was the woman who shot Shawn's sister all those years ago. The incident rocked Los Angeles especially when the mother received a minimal punishment. She changed her name and the family moved and she has hidden in plain sight all these years. Now her secret is out and suspicion falls on Shawn's family. Did one of them take revenge after all these years for the earlier shooting? Cha has written a tense novel about how events can both separate and intersect those who would normally never come in contact. The desire for revenge is understandable yet the act would be as wrong as the one that set this crime in motion decades before. How each family reacted to the earlier tragedy and this new one is discussed and the question of when forgiveness is appropriate is explored. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.
