Clay Walls - #4 Novels about LA you might like to read

A multi-generational tale of a Korean family's immigration experiences in Los Angeles.
From 500 Great Books by Women:
"At one point in Clay Walls, Faye, a second generation Korean-American, comments that reading is "just a way for me to see how other people live. I haven't found a book yet written about the people I know." Clay Walls begins to fill that gap, giving a clear-eyed view of two generations of Korean-Americans in pre- and post-World War II Los Angeles. The novel starts with recently-immigrated Haesu, who is being "taught" how to clean a toilet by Mrs. Randolph; Haesu "did not know the English equivalent for 'low woman' but she did know how to say, 'I quit' and later said it to Mrs. Randolph." Born a yangban, or an aristocrat, Haesu is determined never to work for anyone else. Her husband, Chun, starts a successful produce business and eventually buys them a house, but Haesu always dreams of going home. Her hatred of anything Japanese is unwavering, especially after she visits Korea and sees that a permanent return is impossible as long as the Japanese are present. Her children grow up in the midst of their mother's fierce pride; when Chun loses their savings and eventually leaves them, Haesu refuses charity and spends endless hours doing piecework embroidery at their table because a yangban would never work outside the home. As one generation gives over to the next, the focus of Clay Walls shifts to Haesu's daughter, Faye, who must find her place between her mother's world and the United States outside her front door."

Another very specific perspective on Los Angeles. It's the only novel written by Kim Ronyoung who died shortly after the book was published.

Sexual Outlaw -- #3 Novels about LA you might try reading

"A passionate outcry against the oppression of homosexuals, this is the author's 6th book and first work of non-fiction. John Rechy calls this angry documentary "a non-fiction account, with commentaries, of three days and nights in the sexual underground." It is set in parks, alleys, tunnels, garages, streets and beaches of contemporary Los Angeles and its immediate environs--the "battlefield" of the sexual outlaw who brings a sense of choreography, ritual and mystery to the sex hunt.
"The Sexual Outlaw" has three distinct, but smoothly interwoven, elements to bring into sharp focus the scene of the committed homosexual, the sexual outlaw who lives on the very edge of American society. The first tells the story of a single shattering weekend in the life of Jim, a sometime male hustler; the second consists of documentary sections, some blackly funny, that uncover the insanity and agony of the oppression visited upon the homosexual minority; and, finally, there are personal statements and resentments by the author dramatizing Rechy's own developed sexual identity and mature political awareness. Rechy brilliantly cuts back and forth among these three elements, using cinematic terminology and forms to take the reader on an excursion of a subculture of our cities still hidden from our view, and to show what it is really like in the "gay" underworld. This stylized intermixture of forms and voices, history and drama, eroticism and ideas, rage and humor, makes for fascinating reading with an appeal in no way limited by its explosive subject matter." -- From the author's website.

I'm selecting these books by how much they reflect this city, and this book, while shocking to some, fully captures an aspect of Los Angeles, and it's incredibly well-written.