All right, all right—I know I’m late to the Little Fires Everywhere party. But I have arrived!
When mainstream media takes notice of a book, I sit back ‘cause popularity brings out exaggerated excitement along with extreme opposition. However, I let the well-known novel by Celeste Ng sit in my TBR pile for a while (the book was published in 2016; the year I finally read it is 2020). And even after hearing a Hulu series was coming out based on the book, I was still hesitant.
Until Kelly Washington and Reese Witherspoon as well as Celeste Ng appeared on Brené Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us. Listening to the circles and descriptions they discussed won me over!
And the timing was perfect. Amid the pandemic, the books I immersed myself in revolved around weighty nonfiction topics, especially considering the racial reckoning. After sitting in such heaviness, processing how I can apply this education into my daily practice, I needed story. I needed fiction to reset my focus because fiction allows me to marinate in a world outside of reality so I can re-enter with a new lens. Or it can simply be an escape.
In this case, Little Fires Everywhere was both.
The Biggest Sparks
“‘The firemen said there were little fires everywhere,’ Lexie said. ‘Multiple points of origin. Possible use of accelerant. Not an accident.’”
Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere
The beauty of this book emerges from the way Celeste Ng handled the details and the multiple perspectives.
The strongly woven plot drew me in with the pearls hidden in the details, quick yet gleaming. Particularly, the unassuming mention and symbolism of fires peppered throughout the story, a hat tip to Chekhov’s gun. And not only was it ‘cause Brené Brown mentioned the references in her podcast interview, but even from the book’s opening chapter. (spoiler alert!) By the end, the reader can see the scenes where sparks ignited, feeding into the overall fire burning down the Richardson’s home and the entire community of Shaker Heights. Literally and figuratively.
In addition, the nuance Ng used to describe the situation from a swipe at the table to a character’s unruly hair, she leaned directly into the sweet spot of the writer’s golden rule—show, don’t tell. Naming things or explaining things is unnecessary when you can already visualize what’s happening. Pure telepathy (h/t Stephen King in On Writing). As a bonus, the well-planted vivid vocabulary sprinkled within the story made the experience a multi-faceted learning experience.
The plot and details paired well with the characters and their respective perspectives. You know the saying “there are two sides to every story”? Little Fires Everywhere embodied this completely. The situation with Mei Ling / Mirabelle in particular, the parents and professionals who were involved in the case all had valid arguments, they all had valid goals and purposes, yet Ng doesn’t tell the reader which side is doing the “right thing.” We get to decide or not decide for ourselves. The author merely presents the facts as the story unfolds.
On top of that, because the characters were complex and vivid on their own coupled with the third-person point of view, the changing perspectives between characters was seamless, even in the audiobook. Although some people may find fault in the shifting viewpoints, the story needed to be seen through those characters’ eyes to add depth to our understanding of the story.
As readers and writers, we stand to gain when we learn from strong writing. Little Fires Everywhere is a precise example.
★★★★★
Thoughts
Have you read the novel or watched the series? Which scenes stuck with you? Let us know in the comments, lovely!
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