Little Fires Everywhere

This month in my book club, it was my pick. I have been dying to read Little Fires Everywhere going on a year now – seriously – but just haven’t had the time with review work obligations. I really need to find a better balance of work reading versus pleasure reading, especially as my TBR pile has multiplied to a ridiculous amount, spilling from my bedside table onto my desk, with the excess stacked up in two dangerously tall piles in my library.Little Fires Everywhere did not disappoint. And I’m glad of it, since my pleasure reading time is so precious to me. I’m also always a little nervous when picking a book for my book club. I’d hate to pick a dud (my friend Kelley did one month and we haven’t let her live it down yet, ha ha!) and I’m always conscious of everyone else’s reading preferences. We are a bit of an eclectic mix who fall into several different reading preference categories, but the four of us generally can agree if a book is good or bad. I’ve been waiting on pins and needles to hear if they liked Fires as much as I did and luckily, they enjoyed it nearly as much as I did.This book was . . . well, overall, it was simply a portrait of human character. It carefully and thoughtfully peeled back the layers of the contributing factors give a person their personality, whether it be person, place, thing, or idea. Whether it be setting or circumstance. Time or space. Or all of the above. It detailed the nuances that keep a personality in its place, and what sways a person to make the decisions they make. It got raw, and it got dirty. At times, it was hauntingly real in the way that the author could slice right down the middle of the character’s insecurities and lay them open and bare.Of course, there were some instances where the details got a little too deep and a little too particular. There were so many characters that the back and forth of points of view became a bit tedious, your mind wandering from this person to that. It was hard to get attached to any one character, but in reflection, I wondered if this was the author’s intent. We discussed it in my book club . . . how the characters could sometimes feel a little flat. Again, I argued that perhaps this was the intention all along. Shaker Heights is a real place, and author Celeste Ng grew up there. Was she poking fun at her traditional and ideally flawless little town? This book was not perfect, but it was a page-turner. There was a plethora of winding and twisty turning story-lines constantly weaving in and out of one another, making it feel like you were wrapped up in a daytime soap opera. They nestled into one another like Russian dolls, each character’s path fitting inside the others with flush precision. And the ending . . . well. It was an ending, I can say that much.The town of Shaker Heights is full of little houses made of ticky-tacky, just like the song suggests. The people there are the epitome of cookie-cutter, even in the standard way they strive for diversity and range. Everything has its place and its purpose; every shade of skin color is accounted for in much the same way that the colors of the houses are chosen. It is a masterfully planned community, right down to the studs.There are rules in Shaker Heights, rules on how many trees you have to have in your yard or where your garbage can can be (and at what time it can be there). Rules on speed limits and how many animals each home can handle. And for the most part – it all works. The residents of Shaker Heights take their community and its way of life as something to be treasured; it is a Utopia and must be treated as such.Mrs. Richardson grew up in Shaker Heights and never had any desire to leave the comforting motherly embrace the town provided. She thrived on the structure and glory that the town slowly embedded in her over the years; Shaker Heights carefully watched as she grew from adolescent into woman, and Elena Richardson hoped her children would grow up in her image. After all, who could want more than a tidy little existence in a tidy little town? No surprises, no nastiness, everything remained clean and beautiful and idyllic.Trip and Moody Richardson are her sons, and they are the epitome of what embodies the Shaker Heights Young Man. Trip plays sports and has rugged good looks that have captured the eye of many a young lady. Moody lives up to his name and spends feverish afternoons writing in his journal or riding around the quiet tree-lined streets on his bike. Mrs. Richardson’s oldest daughter Lexie is equally appealing with her WASP’ish good looks and beauty queen smile. But then there’s Izzy, the black sheep . . . the odd girl out . . . the child who must always question everything and insists on going her own way, especially if its against the grain. Izzy is the child who always has a problem shoved up her sleeve, always ready to throw it like a bomb on a battlefield.Izzy has always been difficult, even a as a young child. Mrs. Richardson even insists that she knew Izzy would be trouble even as the infant floated around in her womb. Thankfully she has become a little more manageable since the Warren family came to town, spending her after-school hours as a pseudo assistant to the enigmatic artist instead of plotting her next revenge. Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl drove into Shaker Heights from God knows where and planted themselves in the Richardson’s investment property, renting out the upstairs space and setting down some not-so-firm roots. Mia is a photographer of some sort, a job that the formally educated Mrs. Richardson could never understand. The whimsical Mia, with her peasant skirts and thrift store bracelets, spends her days creating what she calls art from nothing . . . fragments of their little town distorted into images manipulated in a dark room to suit Mia’s whim and fancy. Her daughter Pearl possesses a quiet shyness that borders on socially awkward, never having been in one place long enough to make friends organically. But Pearl and Moody, they have caught on like fire, and it feels as if you can’t find one without finding the other since the Warren’s move to Shaker Heights.It doesn’t take long for the wounds to begin showing through the worn bandage, the blood vivid and shiny. While Shaker Heights appears perfect on the outside, scratching softly upon the surface allows what’s underneath to show. When a prominent family in town announces their impending adoption of a little Asian baby, the real trouble begins. Mia Warren quietly and deftly inserts herself into the equation, urging those around her to do the same. She knows who that baby really belongs to and she knows the situation is going to get messy. But she’s been in messy places before, she’s had to make hard choices in her dark past, and she knows that she can’t walk away from what is in front of her. Not like she did before.The case of the baby will split the town into two equal pieces, throwing neighbors in separate chasms and pitting lifelong friends against one another. Mia Warren will be at the center of it all, her daughter an extension, and Mrs. Richardson’s family threaded into the scandal as purveyors of what they believe to be true justice. Will the ties that bind be enough to keep the family together, or will Izzy burn it all down around them – as is her custom?Little Fires Everywhere is the newest novel by Celeste Ng, and has taken book clubs around the country by storm. Hulu has announced an impending development of the book into a limited television series, and Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington have attached themselves to the project. A quick and enticing read, Fires catches the reader from early on, allowing its burn to spread and gather as the pages turn and the story builds on top of itself. Layer upon layer is applied, in a touch so tender you barely see it coming. It is appropriate for ages 15+, and touches on relationships from that particular age group all the way into adulthood. There are more than a few frank discussions about sex and pregnancy, but it is all very relevant to the plot and situation that readers of all ages will be able to relate to.The takeaway in my book club for this particular novel was that while the book was an easy and fun read, it was also viewed by some as a story was a little too young for their taste; a touch too YA fiction instead of adult. While the plot is split between points of view, and quite a few of those characters are indeed teenagers, I personally didn’t find it to be an issue. For me personally, the overall feeling was that of an adult fiction novel.That’s probably what I love best about my book club – we are all such different readers coming from different walks of life and points of view, and we can be hit by the same book in totally conflicting ways. It makes for a great group discussion, and our differences always lead to growth in my book comfort zone.I give Little Fires Everywhere 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to those who like easy and fast reads that are engaging and full of mystery. It is both plot and character driven which makes it semi-unique, and while the development is not strong in the character sense, the plot more than makes up for it. Readers who enjoyed Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies or Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth would equally enjoy Little Fires Everywhere.

I've mused before about those books that it seems like everyone reads. It is rare, but every once in a while a novel comes along that seems to universally grab readers. I tend to be behind the curve with such titles, waiting for the hype to die down a bit before diving in. It should be no surprise then that it has taken me this long to read Celeste Ng's acclaimed Little Fires Everywhere. I was aware of the book when it was published in 2017, and I was reminded of it when the mini-series based on the novel was released in 2020. Still, it wasn't until last week that I decided to finally give it a read. As is often the case with these buzzy titles, I was left wondering why it took me so long to see what all the hype was about.Shaker Heights is the master-planned community that suburban dreams of being made of. Every last detail of this place is meticulously thought out, ensuring peace and happiness to all who call the area home. Perhaps no one aligns with the values of Shaker Heights quite like Elena Richardson. In her mind, her life represents the quintessential American dream. Mrs. Richardson has a loving husband whose law practice provides the family with a comfortable lifestyle. The Richardsons are parents to four perfect children, two boys and two girls. When she's not maintaining her home, Mrs. Richardson has a fulfilling career as a print journalist for the local newspaper. Yes, it is safe to say that Mrs. Richaradson's life perfectly aligns with the ideals of the community she calls home. At least, that's what it looks like from the outside.Mia Warren is about as different from Elena Richardson as you can get. A single mother, Mia travels from town to town, only staying long enough to complete her latest art project. She supplements the artist lifestyle with whatever part-time work she can wrangle up to fill in the financial gaps of her passions. This life isn't much, but it works for Mia and her daughter Pearl. The pair settle into Shaker Heights, renting in a duplex owned by Mrs. Richardson. The Richardson clan is instantly drawn to the free-spirited Warrens. Mia's go-with-the-flow approach to life directly contradicts the orderly nature of Mrs. Richardson and the larger Shaker Heights community. Mrs. Richardson can't shake the feeling that Mia is hiding something. She'll stop at nothing to discover Mia's secret past. In doing so, however, her perfect little life may just come crumbling down.Little Fires Everywhere sees Celeste Ng dismantle the picture-perfect facade of life through challenging scenarios that don't have exact answers. Despite our best efforts, life isn't perfect. In fact, it can often be downright messy. That seems to be the main thesis of the book. Ng sets her story in an idyllic community during the 90s, a time at the very beginning of the internet and predating social media. I was struck by the differences in the period from our present day. Life both seemed simpler but was nonetheless complex. The main characters here are both mothers who are doing the best they can in the situations they are in. Even when Ng focuses on the perspective of the children, the mother's influence on their lives is deeply felt. I was completely enthralled with the characters in the book, unable to put it down until I had finished it. I completely understand the hype around Little Fires Everywhere, and I only wish I hadn't waited so long to read it.

Trigger warnings for: abortion, miscarriage, infertilityLet me begin by saying I saw the Hulu show first. I definitely appreciated the show and the drama— the book imo is a bit less dramatic, and with some important differences that help punctuate the story.Both the book and the movie, I was appalled at Elena’s *audacity.* at every turn, her privilege showed. Her inability to see past her nose. Her entitlement.Elena’s character angered me.Izzy… my heart breaks for her, and honestly? For Trip, too. I’m least sympathetic toward Lexie and Moody. These siblings truly don’t know anything past their life— but I felt the selfishness in Lexie and Moody, the *entitlement,* they must have gotten honestly from their mother.This is a quick read, I think— a short book. My brow was furrowed practically the entire time and I definitely gasped out loud several times. Once again, at the absolute gall of some of the aforementioned characters.Truly, I think Elena was jealous of Mia, and offended that anyone would choose to live differently from her, as Mia suggested. And honestly, how often do we see this in our world today? With the policies that are endorsed, and the narratives we hear in the news.I think many people struggle to wrap their heads around the idea that someone else could live a life that is so different from their own, and be happy with their choices. How dare anyone choose to be free?There’s an ease I appreciate in Ng’s storytelling.

This book was recommended to me and i loved it. Its a story that keeps you interested in whats going to happen next. Nice easy , quick read. the story is about an upheaval in a staid community. lovely book.

Enjoyed the story but the ending was disappointing.

This novel is one of the most gripping, insightful, intricately plotted and complex ones I have ever read. Everything, especially the main characters in the story, is wonderfully described. It is set in 1998 in Shaker Heights, the prosperous little city just outside Cleveland, Ohio, where the American author spent her school years. It is a planned community, very prim and proper, with detailed rules about what its residents may not do.The book opens with Bill and Elena Richardson’s prosperous home in Shaker Heights being burnt down, presumably by their youngest daughter, Isabelle (Izzy), about 14, who had a history of crazily rebellious behaviour and who had now disappeared. She has a sister, Lexie (18) and two brothers, Trip (17), and Moody (15). The author is very good on teenagers.After the description of the fire, the story moves back in time until we come back to the fire at the end. Mrs Richardson is conventional but also generally liberal and generous, although she also has some unlikeable characteristics, and is, in fact, the most complex figure in the book. She owned a duplex property in the less wealthy part of the town, which she liked to rent out at a low rent to people who could not afford much, and she had let it to Mia Warren and her remarkable 15-year-old daughter, Pearl. Mia was a single parent and evasive about her past, even to her daughter. She was an artist who made surrealistic photographs, was not interested in marketing strategies, so made relatively little money out of them and took low-pay part-time work and bought in thrift stores to make ends meet. She and her daughter seemed to settle down in Shaker Heights after many years of restless moves from town to town.Pearl became a close friend of Moody’s, and eventually he introduced her to his family, and she was overwhelmed by their friendliness, self-assurance and wealth. Only Izzy kept herself apart from the family and, initially, from Pearl. Pearl spent many hours a day at the Richardsons’ home. Mia felt uneasy about that, and then accepted an offer from Mrs Richardson of a few hours a day of well-paid house-keeping work at her home, to her daughter’s dismay. But Izzy saw in Mia a kindred unconventional, not to say rebellious spirit. Mia does not mean mischief, but on three occasions in the novel she makes remarks that inspire others to drastic actions. On the first of these, Izzy took a remark of Mia’s as encouraging an act of vengeance at school. She became attached to Mia as she had never been to any adult, let alone to her mother (we are given the genesis of Elena’s continual fault-finding), and worked for her as an assistant in preparing photographs. She became closer and closer to Mia and to Pearl.The book now switches to another family, the McCulloughs, friends of the Richardsons. Linda McCullough had lost seven embryos; for three years she and Mark, her husband, had had setbacks in trying to adopt a baby; but they were at last in the process of adopting a baby Asian girl who been left abandoned outside a fire station a year earlier. They called her Mirabelle, though a note had been found with her saying that her name was May Ling Chow. Mia heard the story from the Richardsons who had been invited to a party to celebrate Mirabelle’s first birthday. Mia was still doing a little work at a Chinese restaurant, where a fellow worker, Bebe, a Cantonese girl, had told her that a year earlier she had been so destitute that she had been forced to leave a new-born girl outside a fire station, and, now that she had a job, was desperate to find her again; but the authorities would give her no information. Mia loved her own daughter so intensely that she could not bear the idea of Bebe losing her child, and she told Bebe what she had heard. Bebe went to see the McCulloughs, but they called the police. Mia advised Bebe to alert the media, which publicized the story. It became a major talking point in Shaker Heights, with the public predictably taking sides, one of the issues being cross-cultural adoption. Elena and Bill side with the McCulloughs, and Bill, who was a lawyer, would represent the McCulloughs in the forthcoming court hearing; but Izzy, who had seen Bebe at Mia’s, vehemently sided with Bebe. After a while the involvement of Mia became clear to Elena. Elena was a journalist, and she determined to investigate Mia’s past. She tracked down Mia’s parents and learnt about Mia’s early years. The tension in the book slackens for several pages, mostly about her training as a photographer, until we come to the extraordinary episode which explains why Mia was so secretive about her past.WARNING: THE REMAINDER OF THE REVIEW UNAVOIDABLY CONTAINS SOME SPOILER MATERIALThere have been further complications: Lexie had become pregnant by her black boyfriend, Brian, and had had an abortion. At the clinic she had given her name as Pearl Warren. Elena, in pursuit of another enquiry, had seen that name on a computer screen at the abortion clinic and jumped to the conclusion that Moody had been the father. But in fact, Pearl had slept with Trip, which profoundly upset Moody who had never had sex with her but had always thought of Pearl as his special friend. When Elena confronted Moody, he bitterly said it had nothing to do with him, but that the father was likely to be Trip. The sequence of all these misunderstandings are like a farce, but they will have consequences for everyone concerned that are almost unbearable to read about. One of these is Izzy, again inspired by a metaphor Mia had used, setting fire to the family home and disappearing.

this is very well written but I am a bit ambivalent about it as i suspect that it may have much more resonance with older teenagers as a rite of passage book. as it is i enjoyed it when i was reading it but have failed to take away any reaaly vivid messages or even memories from it and suspect this may be because it is so fat away from my time-frame plus it is deeply rooted in small town america which futher distances it. still, an enjoyable read

This had me gripped. Truly remarkable storytelling. I look forward to the limited series though I doubt the nuance, emotion and complexity will be able to be captured in the same way. Incredible work.