Time\u2019s top 100 English-language novels list<\/a> from 1923-2005 and was a seminal book in Thorpe\u2019s career.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen I think about Southern California writers, I think about Joan Didion,\u201d Thorpe said. \u201cPlay It as It Lays was put into my hands as an impressionable 17-year-old, and it is part of what made me a writer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryka Aoki\u2019s ‘Light from Uncommon Stars’ (2021)<\/p>\n
Ryka Aoki\u2019s science fiction novel is about an acclaimed violin teacher, who has to deliver seven souls to the devil to escape her own fate. Meanwhile a trans, teenage violinist escapes her abusive home and travels to Los Angeles. The music teacher catches wind of the violinist and targets the teenager as her next victim. The novel also features some iconic L.A. spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a donut shop reference that has the big donut, like Randy’s Donuts,\u201d Thorpe said. \u201cAnd there’s an alien that runs this donut store. And it’s so rad and so fun and so Southern California.”<\/p>\n
Kashana Cauley\u2019s \u201cThe Payback\u201d (2025)<\/p>\n
Thorpe shouted out a new book, Kashana Cauley\u2019s second novel, which explores what life would be like if student loan police existed and beat up people who were late to their payments.<\/p>\n
The story follows a retail salesperson \u2014 working at the Glendale Galleria \u2014 and her heist plan to erase student debt.<\/p>\n
Walter Mosley\u2019s \u2018Easy Rawlins\u2019 Mysteries (1990 – current)<\/p>\n
Thorpe also shouted out Walter Mosley as \u201can important element of L.A. fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mosley\u2019s mystery series began with the 1990 novel Devil in a Blue Dress. The series is set mostly between the 1940s and 1960s and follows the adventures of a Black private investigator living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Watch the full interview with \u201cMargo\u2019s Got Money Troubles\u201d author Rufi Thorpe:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keep up with LAist. If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":246618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6216,1022,171,131061,131060,131062,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-246617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-book-recommendations","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-margos-got-money-troubles","12":"tag-rufi-thorpe","13":"tag-summer-reading","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115248688465271561","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}