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A review by lilbanne
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
5.0
Before watching the mini-series, I read Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere. While I enjoyed the show, and the cast is perfect, I loved the book much more! The narrative and plot are perfectly paced. The characters are textured and relatable. There are surprises in the book, but don't expect a mystery or suspense type of novel, but it is real-life surprises that come up and kick you in the butt.
What a setting! It takes place in a suburb of Cleveland called Shaker Heights, which gives us Pleasantville vibes. The community is pristine, with white picket fences and properly manicured lawns.
The story is ultimately about motherhood from different perspectives. Elena Richardson is a local Shaker Heights resident whose parenting is overbearing. Elena is uptight, watches everything she does, and cares about how she and her family come off. Mia is an artist who strolls into town one day to rent a house from Elena for her and her daughter. Mia is attracted to Shaker Heights because her daughter is brilliant and wants to provide a stable environment with a good education system for her. These two mothers could not be more different.
Additionally, a subplot of the book has to do with a birth mother who initially leaves her baby on the doorstep of the fire station because she cannot care for her newborn child. A couple who have been eagerly trying to start a family for a long time, with no success, warmly welcome a baby into their lives, only to have the birth mother come looking for her daughter a year later—an emotionally complex plot to delve into.
The book is full of many rich characters that I want to learn more about, so I was glad to have had the opportunity to watch the mini series after reading the book. Although it explores the same material, it felt like a bonus to the book!
Activating material: infertility
What a setting! It takes place in a suburb of Cleveland called Shaker Heights, which gives us Pleasantville vibes. The community is pristine, with white picket fences and properly manicured lawns.
The story is ultimately about motherhood from different perspectives. Elena Richardson is a local Shaker Heights resident whose parenting is overbearing. Elena is uptight, watches everything she does, and cares about how she and her family come off. Mia is an artist who strolls into town one day to rent a house from Elena for her and her daughter. Mia is attracted to Shaker Heights because her daughter is brilliant and wants to provide a stable environment with a good education system for her. These two mothers could not be more different.
Additionally, a subplot of the book has to do with a birth mother who initially leaves her baby on the doorstep of the fire station because she cannot care for her newborn child. A couple who have been eagerly trying to start a family for a long time, with no success, warmly welcome a baby into their lives, only to have the birth mother come looking for her daughter a year later—an emotionally complex plot to delve into.
The book is full of many rich characters that I want to learn more about, so I was glad to have had the opportunity to watch the mini series after reading the book. Although it explores the same material, it felt like a bonus to the book!
Activating material: infertility