BOOK 201: LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE: CELESTE NG

This story of two families, set in the 1990s in Shaker Heights, Ohio, explores the way choices, big and small can affect the lives of individuals, families and cause ripples to change the way that people end up living their lives.

MY REVIEW: I was engrossed in this book from the first page. Although I think the start is quite misleading, it made me think this was a story about a seriously mentally deranged individual at first but it was not that. It doesn't come across as a deep or serious book to me but it was enjoyable to read and despite not fleshing out her characters as much as she could I felt that Celeste Ng has written some real characters that are real and relatable.

My context of the place was a little skewed as I didn’t realise that this setting, Shaker Heights, Ohio, actually existed. I had just assumed that it was a fictional place. Knowing now that the writer grew up there, it wasn't obvious to me on reading the book- there wasn't the kind of detail that indicates an intimate knowledge of a place. That to me was a little bit of the detail and love that was missing from the novel.

This book is beautifully paced and the dotting of 1990s titbits had me feeling nostalgic. The story turns into something unexpected and it details a dilemma that I believe is one of the biggest quandaries I’ve ever read about. I won’t spoil anything.

WATCH OUT FOR: A television miniseries adaptation of the novel is being executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington for Hulu.

I’m really looking forward to watching this. Reese Witherspoonis an ace book adapter and even if you don’t want to read the book I think this will be a great miniseries to watch.

OTHER OPINIONS:

My final recommendation of a book out in 2017 is Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, one of my favourite novels of the year, Ng is brilliant at crafting an all-consuming world, and I found her exploration of whether family is biology or love fascinating - Stylist magazine

Parenting, politics, race and devastating secrets...the stage is set for a drama that will have you thinking long after the last page - Grazia

Riveting...unearthing the ways that race, class, motherhood and belonging intersect to shape each individual...Perhaps Ng's most impressive feat is inviting the reader's forgiveness for Mrs. Richardson - a woman whose own mission for perfection, and strict adherence to rules ultimately become the catalyst for the maelstrom that ensues - Chicago Tribune

As I read Celeste Ng's second novel I found myself thinking, again and again: how does she know so much? About all of us? How does she write with such perception, such marvelous grace, such daring and generosity? Little Fires Everywhere has the irresistible pace of an expertly tuned thriller, and the observational brilliance of lasting literature. It marks Celeste Ng as a writer of the first rank, among the very best in her generation - right there with Zadie Smith and Jacqueline Woodson. I was mad for this book - Joe Hill, author of The Fireman

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