Steph Cha’s “Your House Will Pay” is an incredible storytelling feat on heavy topics regarding tensions between African American and Korean American communities in relation to the tragedy of the 1992 Los Angeles Race Riots. The story is focused around two individuals, with the perspective switching back and forth: Grace Park, a Korean American woman, and Shawn Matthews, an African American man. While rooted in history, the story takes place surrounding a new police shooting in 2019, which forces the characters to delve into their pasts and the overarching legacy of injustice in America. It also centers on the aftermath of a fatal killing in 1991 of a Black teenager by a Korean storekeeper, heavily based on true events.
A standout way this story was written was the intertwinement of these very two distinct characters. Each chapter flows naturally, despite alternating between their perspectives. They each have their own characteristics, actions and thoughts that are starkly different from one another, yet they still serve the connected storyline. The narrative has many unexpected twists and turns, subverting readers’ expectations often and keeping them engaged. It captures the serious essence of the LA Race Riots and historically portrays them while adding a fictional narrative that exemplifies the emotional gravity of these events. The story speaks to larger themes such as generational trauma, the gray morality of its characters and the costs of injustices not only on individuals, but on entire families.
Few books compare to “Your House Will Pay”, which creates a fictional story that keeps the historical remembrance of the tragic racial tensions that occurred in Los Angeles. The reader continuously searches for answers while speaking to larger systemic issues that are currently present in the United States.
Visual Credit: Jessica Christian
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