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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
A tragedy in the past, systemic racism in play, all combine for a new multitude of tragedies and this book lays them all out so that the reader can see the evolution to the present. The prevailing thought that came to me, between bouts of sorrow, were how well white supremacy and system racism play minorities off each other. If they are fighting amongst themselves, they are too divided to combine forces to gain the power the need and should have in our society. I'm not sure whether that is the message the author intended but I know the heartbreak and feeling of inevitability were. This book will not leave you untouched.
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, and that it was chosen as a California Book Club pick was the extra push I needed. John Freeman facilitated a wildly interesting discussion with Steph Cha and said that Your House Will Pay goes down in the canon, and changes the trajectory of what crime fiction can do.
The story thrusts us in the middle of the tension between, and pain within, the Black and Korean communities of LA which came to a head at the murder of Latasha Harlins by Soon Ja-Du in 1991 and Korean businesses becoming one target of the 1992 Uprising. Based on this real event, we travel to the present in this story where another act of violence shocks a family and is interpreted as veangance. I heard myself describing this book + events as complicated, meaty, so difficult. And I thought about how people with privilege may never come across such a complicated situation in their lives, and the threat of prison is very distant.
How do you deal when you discover horrible family secrets, or when justice isn't served? In the real world, as in this book, the story isn't neatly tied up with a bow; forgiveness isn't really given. The history and the pain is accepted and shouldered.
The story thrusts us in the middle of the tension between, and pain within, the Black and Korean communities of LA which came to a head at the murder of Latasha Harlins by Soon Ja-Du in 1991 and Korean businesses becoming one target of the 1992 Uprising. Based on this real event, we travel to the present in this story where another act of violence shocks a family and is interpreted as veangance. I heard myself describing this book + events as complicated, meaty, so difficult. And I thought about how people with privilege may never come across such a complicated situation in their lives, and the threat of prison is very distant.
How do you deal when you discover horrible family secrets, or when justice isn't served? In the real world, as in this book, the story isn't neatly tied up with a bow; forgiveness isn't really given. The history and the pain is accepted and shouldered.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Since I started reading this I've seen it labeled as a "crime thriller" and a "mystery" and while I suppose those identifiers may technically be true, this book is way, way more. This is a novel steeped in Los Angeles and in race. It spins out from the race riots in 1992 and shows how nothing was really learned from that time and that families are still suffering from and dealing with the legacy of that violent era.
A few weeks after the Rodney King tapes and subsequent riots, young, black Ava Matthews was gunned down in a Korean-owned grocery store with her kid brother looking on, by the female owner claiming self-defense and that Ava was stealing a bottle of milk. She got probation and community service, a verdict the neighborhood could not, would not accept. They burned the grocery store down and the Korean family moved away (along with many other Korean business owners), changing their names and trying to start anew.
This backstory emerges slowly, in alternating chapters told by Shawn Matthews, Ava's brother whose life was irrevocably changed by her murder, and Grace Park, daughter to the shooter and completely ignorant of her mother's crime until someone finds where they live, who they are and shoots Grace's mother. Then all kinds of truths come out.
The rest of the novel is a deep dive into these two families--one African-American, one Korean-American--and how they come to terms (or try to) with the events of 1992 and the subsequent events of 2019. Grace flounders, trying to reconcile the horrific act by her mother with the mother she has always known--devoted and loving. Shawn is forced to confront his unrelenting anger and what it turned him into and whether or not he can ever let it go. The presentation of both families, and especially of Grace and Shawn, is layered, painting them in a clear-eyed way with all their strengths and flaws and fears. I cared about them both. I was heartbroken for them both and angry for their suffering and for the cyclical nature of all of it.
All of these events collide against the backdrop of an LA reeling from another young black man killed by the police and the resulting anger threatening to boil over into more riots, history repeating itself (again these cycles). All the while the story is asking, can a city be saved, especially one that doesn't seem capable of real change? And what about the families and individuals that keep paying the price for a city's inability to confront its deeply embedded racism? Can there be hope in any of this?
To her credit, Cha does not offer any easy answers (or any real answers at all); the city burns and we see real flashes of goodness in people, and we wonder if it can be enough.
A few weeks after the Rodney King tapes and subsequent riots, young, black Ava Matthews was gunned down in a Korean-owned grocery store with her kid brother looking on, by the female owner claiming self-defense and that Ava was stealing a bottle of milk. She got probation and community service, a verdict the neighborhood could not, would not accept. They burned the grocery store down and the Korean family moved away (along with many other Korean business owners), changing their names and trying to start anew.
This backstory emerges slowly, in alternating chapters told by Shawn Matthews, Ava's brother whose life was irrevocably changed by her murder, and Grace Park, daughter to the shooter and completely ignorant of her mother's crime until someone finds where they live, who they are and shoots Grace's mother. Then all kinds of truths come out.
The rest of the novel is a deep dive into these two families--one African-American, one Korean-American--and how they come to terms (or try to) with the events of 1992 and the subsequent events of 2019. Grace flounders, trying to reconcile the horrific act by her mother with the mother she has always known--devoted and loving. Shawn is forced to confront his unrelenting anger and what it turned him into and whether or not he can ever let it go. The presentation of both families, and especially of Grace and Shawn, is layered, painting them in a clear-eyed way with all their strengths and flaws and fears. I cared about them both. I was heartbroken for them both and angry for their suffering and for the cyclical nature of all of it.
All of these events collide against the backdrop of an LA reeling from another young black man killed by the police and the resulting anger threatening to boil over into more riots, history repeating itself (again these cycles). All the while the story is asking, can a city be saved, especially one that doesn't seem capable of real change? And what about the families and individuals that keep paying the price for a city's inability to confront its deeply embedded racism? Can there be hope in any of this?
To her credit, Cha does not offer any easy answers (or any real answers at all); the city burns and we see real flashes of goodness in people, and we wonder if it can be enough.
4,5 stars.
A book which I never would have read if it didn’t get recommended in our book club. Gripping story and great writing.
A book which I never would have read if it didn’t get recommended in our book club. Gripping story and great writing.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an excellent book. The subject matter is heavy and I feel like I need to sit with my thoughts. A must read
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this in one evening and was quite engaged in the story. I think I would have liked to see more growth in one of the main characters and maybe that is implied but I think I needed to see more.
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Once of the most nuanced character studies i have read this year. it was giving until it cut off at the end. its like someone tore out the last chapter of the book like why did she do that? also would have liked to see grace improve in her journey of understanding anti-blackness but i know that wouldn't be realistic since this is taking place in like a week or so.
i could also see this being adapted into a mini series by a small indie film co. and it could really just show LA in its truest form kind of like "tangerine". i can see it in my head. netflix contact me about making this into a miniseries.
i could also see this being adapted into a mini series by a small indie film co. and it could really just show LA in its truest form kind of like "tangerine". i can see it in my head. netflix contact me about making this into a miniseries.