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From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, the intertwined stories of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the mother and daughter who upend their lives "I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting. With brilliance and beauty, Celeste Ng dissects a microcosm of American society just when we need to see it beneath the microscope ..."--Jodi Picoult, New York Times -bestselling author of Small Great Things and Leaving Time In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned - from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother - who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood - and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.… (more)
BookshelfMonstrosity: Two disparate families become entangled in each other's lives in these insightful, character-driven novels that tackle the weighty topics of privilege, class, adoption, and identity. While the themes are serious, both authors inject humor and poignancy into their stories.… (more)
sylvarum: The books are by the same author, are both set in suburban areas of America, and touch on similar themes of belonging, adolescence, cross-cultural conflict and familial tension.
This is one of those books that I always saw, but never did read the plot carefully to see if I really wanted to read it plus I always have too many books that I want to read to add another one. When I found it in my Little Free Library, I said here's my chance before someone else grabbed it.
Very interesting book with three plots going on at the same time. It took a while to get to the crux of the book (almost half way through). I liked the Richardson family with their stair step kids all in high school but Izzy was a world apart from her siblings. Always angry, stating her point of view mostly in anger. I didn't like the way that their parents treated her. I'm thinking maybe because she was premature her mother was over protective. Doubtful in my opinion.
I didn't like the way that Mrs. Richardson (and why were they called that throughout the book except once in a while Elena and Bill) treated her tenant Mia and her daughter Pearl who fit into their life well with the kids so close in age to her, like they were vagabonds (even though they practically were) and looking into Mia's life. Shouldn't she have done that before they moved in?
The open ending didn't do it for me. I wanted to know what happened in the future with everyone. ( )
This book was great. Great character development and all. This book had me hooked all through but especially through the last chapters. I loved it. ( )
I listened to this book during the pandemic quarantine. It was enjoyable to listen to during long walks in my neighborhood. This book beautifully blends several themes: the meaning of motherhood, racism and microaggression, art and the creative process, families and the power of secrets, teen- age angst, non- conformity, and suburban living. The author creates vivid and believable characters. By the way, I despise Elena Richardson, but in the end, I had compassion for her plight! This book makes the reader think. During the courtroom scene, the characters talk about books and childrens' dolls as mirrors and as a parent and teacher, I could not agree more. I am definitely putting other books by Celeste Ng on my reading list. ( )
A nice book, a well-rounded story, well written. I read this book at a leisurely pace and while for me, it was not a page-turner, I was interested in every page. I would recommend this book and will try Ms. Ng's other writings. ( )
Wow...just one of those beautifully written stories that will just stay with you for a long time to come. The ending brought tears to my eyes and I was sad to say goodbye when I finished that last page. Great book! ( )
Whether you buy a homesite in the School Section, broad acres in the Shaker Country Estates, or one of the houses offered by this company in a choice of neighborhoods, your purchase includes facilities for golf, riding, tennis, boating; it includes in unexcelled schools; it includes protection forever against depreciation and unwelcome change. ---Advertisement, The Van Sweringen Company, Creators and Developers of a Shaker Village
Actually, though, all things considered, people from Shaker Heights are pretty much like people everywhere else in America. They may have three or four cars instead of one or two, and they may have two television sets instead of one, and when a Shaker Heights girl gets married she may have a reception for eight hundred, with the Meyer Davis band flown in from New York, instead of a wedding reception for a hundred with a local band, but these are all differences of degree rather than fundamental differences. "We're friendly people and we have a wonderful time!" Said a woman at the Shaker Heights Country Club recently, and she was right, for the inhabitants of Utopia do, in fact, appear to lead a rather happy life. ---"The Good Life in Shaker Heights," Cosmopolitan, March 1963
Dedication
To those out on their own paths, setting little fires
First words
Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.
Quotations
Remember, Mia had said: Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People's are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.
"Some pictures, " Mia said, " belong to the person who took them. And some belong to the person inside them...."
Every bedroom was empty except for the smell of gasoline and a small crackling fire set directly in the middle of each bed, as if a demented Girl Scout had been camping there.
Last words
She would spend months, years, the rest of her life looking for her daughter, searching the face of every young woman she met for as long as it took, searching for a spark of familiarity in the faces of strangers.
From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, the intertwined stories of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the mother and daughter who upend their lives "I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting. With brilliance and beauty, Celeste Ng dissects a microcosm of American society just when we need to see it beneath the microscope ..."--Jodi Picoult, New York Times -bestselling author of Small Great Things and Leaving Time In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned - from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother - who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood - and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
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Very interesting book with three plots going on at the same time. It took a while to get to the crux of the book (almost half way through). I liked the Richardson family with their stair step kids all in high school but Izzy was a world apart from her siblings. Always angry, stating her point of view mostly in anger. I didn't like the way that their parents treated her. I'm thinking maybe because she was premature her mother was over protective. Doubtful in my opinion.
I didn't like the way that Mrs. Richardson (and why were they called that throughout the book except once in a while Elena and Bill) treated her tenant Mia and her daughter Pearl who fit into their life well with the kids so close in age to her, like they were vagabonds (even though they practically were) and looking into Mia's life. Shouldn't she have done that before they moved in?
The open ending didn't do it for me. I wanted to know what happened in the future with everyone. (