Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Kleine Feuer überall

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Kleine Feuer überall by Celeste Ng

37 reviews

indyemmajones's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I vaguely remember this book being Uber popular even before the idea of a tv show came about. I didn’t know what to make of the premise so I left it alone until recently. First - the plot twist towards the middle ish ? 3/4 of the way in surprised me. So that was interesting. Except ....

if Mia truly believed that May Ling deserved to be with Bebe.... why hadn’t she given the Ryan’s their kid ? Isn’t that... hypocritical ? I also rolled my eyes and gave a sigh of ... not disgust just a really ? when Pearl tells Tripp she doesn’t mind being a secret. Again- I’m 29 so I’m obviously of the mindset where I know when a teenage boy like Tripp (fictional or not) is using someone and the girl just doesn’t see it. I also strongly disliked Elena throughout the entire novel. So... she has Izzy and because Izzy was the painful, no easy child to be pregnant with (not to mention a premature baby) Elena resents her daughter because of this ? This is no way in hell Izzy’s fault ! Izzy of course picks up on the mom’s behavior and despite the fire burning being a little extreme - a part of me doesn’t blame her for doing that. Izzy is fed up with the mistreatment and of course - the trauma would be enough for any teenager to act up. I think that the book is slow paced - I’m glad in the end the background / backstory of the characters took center stage in the first part of the novel to understand their development. Once that got out of the way - the plot picked up quickly. It took me some time to absorb the book in between readings - mostly because I sympathize with Izzy and being a premature baby myself - I understand when a parent is told your child may not be able to do things and then come out doing exactly what they said you couldn’t. Yet - my mom wasn’t like Elena. She didn’t channel her frustration on me because I was early. She fought hard to make sure I had what I needed to grow. So a lot of the sections with Izzy and Elena - I wanted to strangle / slap some sense into the woman. In the case of May Ling - I think visitation should have been granted. Or even a co parent option. I didn’t care / like the McCulloughs either.

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Shaker Heights is the perfect community: everything is organized and planned and perfect. Mrs. Robinson has lived in Shaker practically her whole life, and she has taken these values wholly to heart. Then Mia, a nomadic and free-spirited artist, moves into the Robinson family's duplex with her daughter, Pearl. Everything is fine at first; Pearl befriends the Robinson children and Mia starts working as a housekeeper for the Robinsons. When the Shaker Heights community is disrupted by a custody battle for a Chinese-American baby, tensions flare and truths are brought to light.

All of the contemporary fiction I have been reading lately has strong themes of motherhood and mother-daughter relationships, and it's really making me miss my mom (It doesn't help that this weekend is Mother's Day here in Spain)! I loved Ng's writing style and the flashbacks that gave more context and personal history of the characters throughout the book. I really liked Mia's story (and her character in general) while anything from Mrs. Robinson's point of view was painful to read (she's just obnoxious...I know that's the point).

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibes):

Bittersweet for sure, and a little ambiguous.

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theskyboi's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Having read this novel after watching the limited series based on Little Fires Everywhere, I can confidently say that this is a much subtler and richer text than its TV adaptation turned out to be. The book deals heavily in the concept of creating a utopia, so it narrates objectively and allows the reader to decide what has and hasn't worked. For starters, there isn't anything inherently wrong with wanting to create an intentional community, but what has become of Shaker Heights is the product of an intersectional struggle between different strata of race and class. Conversely, the show doesn't have narration; it has Elena Richardson—portrayed by Reese Witherspoon—who just has a knack for playing it a little obtusely when it comes to explaining how she, as a white woman, just wants the best out of life. The show doesn't let you decide where the fog dissipates to reveal a line drawn in the sand; it dries up the fog for you in the dialogue.

As far as the book itself, I'd be doing it a disservice to not speak about the author's voice. Celeste Ng's conversational and casual tone gives readers the best combination of stream-of-consciousness and narrative story structures, blending to create a book much more concerned with universal feelings than minute details. At times, this style does prove somewhat distracting, and it tends to drift more toward the informal side of things, especially in scenes between the Richardson children and Pearl.

For a book about family and identity, the plot arranges all the characters on a playing field where each of their motivations and fears all mix in murky waters, almost dissolving any fixed boundaries between them. No one fully wants to take this first step toward bridging opposing sides because all the characters are busy trying to identify their personal desires before considering those around them. At its core, this novel is about how our family relationships can be much more fragile than we ever thought possible, and it sets this realization against the backdrop of a glimmering suburban utopia in need of serious remodeling.

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