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Your House Will Pay

by mr. hipster July 19, 2021
July 19, 2021
Your House Will Pay
67
Your House Will Pay
Genre: Cultural Fiction
Author: Steph Cha
Publication Year: 2019
Length: 304 pages

I know I’ve mentioned about 1,001 times that I grew up in LA. It comes off as some kind of brag or something, but it’s not at all. It’s a reflexive thing that I do from way back in college where this was a unique identifier and created some sort of conversation starter when I was at a loss. Mainly because nobody from Los Angeles (or at least very few who made it past freshman year) was stupid enough to sequester themselves in freezing-cold Upstate New York for four years. I point this out, once again, only to say that this book spoke to me as a very LA-specific story. And one that intrigued me not only since the author, Steph Cha, attended the same high school I did, but also because the novel starts off in 1991 with the very real New Jack City riots in Westwood Village. Westwood was where we hung out in high school. And then, not two months after these riots, I got a job at the Mann/Fox Theatre, Westwood Village movie theater. The same chain, and only a block or two from where they turned away young black men from a movie, which caused the aforementioned “riot.” I worked there until I was transferred to the Culver Plaza Theatres in Culver City for the premier of Boyz n the Hood. I stood and took tickets at the door, surrounded by both undercover and uniformed cops. All of whom were armed to the teeth. Culver City was a bit rough back in 1991. Needless to say, after the Rodney King beating, LA was a tinderbox. Gang activity, law enforcement and race were on display like never before. Which is where Cha focuses her book.

Cha endeavors to tell the tale of two families. One African American. One Korean. She uses the New Jack City riots as an inciting event. One that kind of encapsulated the feelings of frustration and helplessness that many black folks were feeling in Los Angeles post Rodney King. Nerves were raw. Everyone was on edge. And all it took was the denial of entry into what in retrospect is a pretty mediocre movie to set things off. It is during these real riots that we’re introduced to our fictional characters. They’re young and impressionable, but we get to see their perspectives as glass shatters, things get looted and people kind of lose their minds. Cha takes this real event and layers on top of it a fictional one from the same year, which involves one of the teenagers who observed the riots first-hand. Ava Matthews, sister of Shawn, cousin of Ray, is shot in the back of the head and killed by a woman Korean store owner after an altercation where she is seemingly just trying to pay for a quart of milk. The subsequent trial and acquittal only causes bigger rifts to form between not only the cops and the black community, but also those of the black and Korean community. Both of whom either live or work in close quarters in Central LA.

After the trial, while protests still burn, the woman, Jung-Ja Han, moves with her husband and small daughter and assumes a new identity in the beigeness of The San Fernando Valley. Justice denied. Meanwhile we’re transported to 2019, where the brother of Ava, Shawn, is an ex-convict working as a mover, and the cousin, Ray, is just getting out of prison after what sounds like a pretty long career as a gang banger. So, we’re instantly in the lives of these men and their extended families, both of which have not gone as planned. Nexus event and all. Meanwhile, the Korean family — mother, father and two adult daughters — are living a middle-class life in Northridge as the owners of a small pharmacy. Jung-Ja Han is now Yvonne Park, and she has basically gotten away scot-free. One daughter, now an adult, doesn’t speak to her mother, and the other is dutiful, but only because she was born after the incident and has no idea who her mother is, or what she did. Which I, frankly, have a hard time believing that it would never come out, or she’d never stumble across it on the Internet. That seems highly unlikely for something that was supposedly big news back when it happened. Like they wouldn’t have talked about it in class when she was in high school? I imagine they talk about the Rodney King beating and the LA Riots in LA high schools, so… Anyway, I’ll let that one go.

Cha is pretty even-handed with her treatment of the two families. In fact, she’s more sympathetic to the Matthewses than she is to the Parks. Which I kept — with or without justification — thinking about. Steph Cha is obviously Korean-American. I imagine one of the two sisters is a stand-in for her. Probably the sheltered younger sister, Grace, who is clueless about her mother’s indiscretions. I have a general sense, based on where Cha grew up and the private high school that we both attended, that she is not intimately familiar with the life and times of ex-cons. Or the African American experience in Los Angeles both in the 1990s and in current times. So her lens is certainly coming from one side of the microscope. A horribly botched metaphor, but you get the point. Regardless of her even-handedness, it was always in the back of my mind, and I always felt like I was looking for a wobble or a tone-deafness with the black characters. Frankly, I didn’t see anything, but I was on a beach for a good chunk of this, so my attention was definitely not at 100%. Stupid seagulls.

Now, I don’t want to hang this albatross around this book’s neck, but I also couldn’t help thinking about Crash when reading this thing. Granted, I’ve shunted that shittiest of films from my memory in the best way I can, but there is something in the melodrama and situation that reminded me of it. Though maybe it’s just a superficial similarity. Whatever the case, I feel like the overarching idea/theme here is better than the story itself. The idea of two entangled families coming together in grief and murder to form a kind of détente because they realize that they are not their parents. They are not destined to repeat old patterns. To hold on to bad blood. They are only at odds because they’ve always been at odds. And forgiveness, while almost as hard as anger and retribution, is the best path. And that the peace has to start with someone — even one or two someones. So why not let it be them?

2019Cultural FictionSteph Cha
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      June 10, 2025

      Good / Bad Commercial
      Bad Commercial: Mattress Firm “Jumbled Up”

      August 10, 2023

      Good / Bad Commercial
      Good Commercial: JUBLIA “Dad’s Toenails”

      February 20, 2023

      Good / Bad Commercial
      Bad Commercial: J.G. Wentworth “Living at Home”

      December 19, 2021

      Good / Bad Commercial
      Bad Commercial: Apple iPhone 12 “Fumble”

      April 15, 2021

      Good / Bad Commercial
      Good Commercial: GEICO “Tag Team Helps With Dessert”

      March 15, 2021

  • Music
    • MusicAlbum ReviewsThe Music ListConcert Reviews
      Album Reviews
      Sioux Falls: Rot Forever

      July 14, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Turnstile: Never Enough

      July 8, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Lifeguard: Ripped and Torn

      June 28, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Cameron Winter: Heavy Metal

      June 17, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Mclusky: the world is still here and so…

      June 16, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Origami Angel: Feeling Not Found

      June 12, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Sioux Falls: Rot Forever

      July 14, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Turnstile: Never Enough

      July 8, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Lifeguard: Ripped and Torn

      June 28, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Cameron Winter: Heavy Metal

      June 17, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Mclusky: the world is still here and so…

      June 16, 2025

      Album Reviews
      Origami Angel: Feeling Not Found

      June 12, 2025

      The Music List
      The Grunge Diaspora

      August 15, 2024

      The Music List
      I Still Own a Lot of CDs

      June 13, 2024

      The Music List
      Top Listens 2023

      January 1, 2024

      The Music List
      In Defense of: OMC’s “How Bizarre”

      July 18, 2021

      The Music List
      Top 25 Influential Rock Albums

      May 1, 2020

      The Music List
      In Defense Of: Ruben Studdard’s “Sorry 2004”

      December 29, 2019

      Concert Reviews
      The Get Up Kids @ Starland Ballroom

      February 27, 2025

      Concert Reviews
      The Dirty Nil @ White Eagle Hall

      January 26, 2025

      Concert Reviews
      The Beths @ White Eagle Hall

      September 26, 2024

      Concert Reviews
      Pearl Jam @ MSG

      September 9, 2024

      Concert Reviews
      Cloud Nothings @ (Le) Poisson Rouge

      May 15, 2024

      Concert Reviews
      Band of Horses @ The Wellmont Theater

      February 13, 2024

  • Movies
    • Movie Reviews
      Mountainhead

      July 4, 2025

      Movie Reviews
      Fountain of Youth

      June 24, 2025

      Movie Reviews
      A Different Man

      June 10, 2025

      Movie Reviews
      Problemista

      May 22, 2025

      Movie Reviews
      Flipside

      May 4, 2025

      Movie Reviews
      The Gorge

      March 2, 2025

      Movie Reviews
      A Real Pain

      January 31, 2025

  • Books
    • Book Reviews
      Trust

      June 19, 2025

      Book Reviews
      Razorblade Tears

      May 24, 2025

      Book Reviews
      The Plot

      March 14, 2025

      Book Reviews
      Maximum Bob

      February 17, 2025

      Book Reviews
      The Sympathizer

      January 6, 2025

      Book Reviews
      The Zone of Interest

      July 12, 2024

      Book Reviews
      Klara and the Sun

      April 13, 2024

  • Podcasts
    • Podcast Reviews
      The Wedding Scammer

      March 1, 2025

      Podcast Reviews
      Search Engine

      November 27, 2024

      Podcast Reviews
      Hysterical

      August 30, 2024

      Podcast Reviews
      60 Songs That Explain the ’90s

      March 31, 2024

      Podcast Reviews
      Otherworld

      February 29, 2024

      Podcast Reviews
      Behind the Bastards

      February 13, 2024

      Podcast Reviews
      Time Crisis

      January 26, 2024

  • Booze & Grub
    • Booze & Grub ReviewsBooze & Grub: NYCBooze & Grub: NJThe NYC Booze & Grub GraveyardThe NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Booze & Grub Reviews
      Falafel Hut

      July 12, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews
      McDonald’s (West Village)

      July 10, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews
      Seoul Bistro

      July 4, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews
      Ralph’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant

      June 27, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews
      CAVA – 350 Hudson

      June 19, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews
      Rooster’s Nashville Hot Chicken

      June 18, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NYC
      McDonald’s (West Village)

      July 10, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NYC
      CAVA – 350 Hudson

      June 19, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NYC
      Westville Hudson

      April 25, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NYC
      Five Guys – Midtown West

      January 25, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NYC
      Jaz Indian Cuisine

      December 23, 2024

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NYC
      Just Salad – Hudson Square

      November 13, 2024

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NJ
      Falafel Hut

      July 12, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NJ
      Seoul Bistro

      July 4, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NJ
      Ralph’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant

      June 27, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NJ
      Rooster’s Nashville Hot Chicken

      June 18, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NJ
      Oso Felipe

      June 6, 2025

      Booze & Grub Reviews: NJ
      Mambo Cuban Restaurant & Lounge Harrison

      May 23, 2025

      The NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard
      NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard: Gone Before Their…

      August 9, 2022

      The NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard
      The Press Box Restaurant & Pub

      August 3, 2021

      The NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Natureworks – Midtown

      May 6, 2021

      The NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard
      The National Bar & Dining Rooms

      April 10, 2021

      The NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Hillstone – Midtown

      March 5, 2021

      The NYC Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Connolly’s Pub & Restaurant – 5th Ave.

      February 12, 2021

      The NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard: Gone Before Their…

      July 21, 2024

      The NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Scala del Nonna

      February 15, 2023

      The NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Diesel & Duke – Montclair

      January 30, 2023

      The NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Ruthie’s Bar-B-Q & Pizza

      September 14, 2021

      The NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Junior’s Cheesesteaks & Shakes

      December 21, 2020

      The NJ Booze & Grub Graveyard
      Vanillamore

      June 13, 2020

  • Randomness
    • Travel Reviews
    • Video Game Reviews
    • Product Reviews
    • Odd Finds
    • Diary