"Your House Will Pay" Explores America's Racial Strife

Your House Will Pay takes place in Los Angeles in the wake of the shooting of a Black teenager, echoing the riots from the 1990s. According to the author, the novel’s premise is based on the 1991 murder of 15-year old Latasha Harlins by Soon Ja Du, a Korean grocer, who accused Harlins for stealing orange juice, and shot her in the back of the head. Although Soon Ja Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, she served no jail time. Published in 2019, the book’s subject matter continues to have cultural relevance today with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Although the book’s inciting incident happens in 1991, the bulk of the story takes place in 2019 examining the aftermath of the tragedy that damaged two families. The book alternates between two characters: Grace and Shawn. Grace Park works at her family’s pharmacy, living with her immigrant Korean parents. In the light of recent protests against police brutality towards the Black community, she uncovers a family secret, causing her distress as to why her sister Miriam has refused to speak to her mother the past two years.

After witnessing the death of his older sister Ava in the early 90s, Shawn Matthews wants to live a quiet life with his family. However, with the recent death of another Black teenager coupled with his cousin Ray’s release from prison, Shawn’s traumatic memories of Ava’s murder resurface. Then another crime hits the Los Angeles area, forcing both families’ paths to converge on their shared history.

“How dare this girl come to their table, pleading about injustice, acting like his sister was a dead body she’d discovered, one they had to help her do something about right now. When they’d buried her a thousand times over. When they’d done their best, the only ways they knew how, to keep her alive.”

Steph Cha comes from a crime fiction background, though she’s not your typical mystery or thriller writer focusing on plot and suspense. Your House Will Pay leans towards the literary despite the genre elements, taking time to explore characters’ emotions and the intricacies of a complicated situation.

Cha is a masterful writer. Not only does she write with gorgeous prose, but she humanizes every character, portraying the Park and Matthews families with sensitivity and complexity. Like real people, they’re haunted and flawed human beings, suffering from personal trauma and grief, and trying their best to protect their loved ones in an unsafe society.

Despite the political subject matter where some books come off as preachy or overly dramatic, the characterization makes the book heartbreaking, poignant, and real. The ending is particularly powerful, showing the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation. It calls for everyone, in particular racial minorities, to unite in the face of the ongoing reality of racism.

The book also highlights not only racism from white people, but racism between minority groups — in particular the lesser known tension between Blacks and Asians. For white audiences, racism is often presented in a simplistic, binary way. Your House Will Pay opens up a more nuanced understanding of inter-racial conflicts between different ethnic groups.

As an Asian American, I could relate to Grace’s perspective. I’ve noticed it’s typical for minorities to stick to their own ethnic enclaves out of safety. However, it can promote an us vs. them mentality. As a result, I’ve witnessed anti-Black sentiment from Asians, particularly from the older generation. It’s saddening to see how marginalized groups have been pitted against one another by white society when in reality we’re all suffering from the same systemic racism.

Your House Will Pay illustrates the power of fiction to widen our perspectives, especially with complex social issues. Thematically, if there’s one life lesson you can gain from this book, it’s that we can stop repeating history if we step out of our comfort zones, connect with the people who are different from us, and provide a space for understanding and healing. After all, we might learn that, despite our differences, we share a lot of common ground.

If you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking literary thriller, I highly recommend Your House Will Pay.

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Originally published on Medium