Little Fires Everywhere Paperback – Big Book, 7 May 2019

Came in great condition

As an experienced reader who gravitates toward emotionally complex and psychologically rich fiction, Little Fires Everywhere felt somewhat underwhelming. While the themes — parenting, privilege, identity, and conformity — are important, they’re handled in a very neat, accessible way that lacks the depth and intensity I expected.The characters, though diverse in background and intention, felt more like constructed roles than fully alive individuals. Their choices and conflicts were often predictable, and I found myself visualizing scenes as if I were watching a scripted drama — polished, cinematic, but emotionally distant. The writing is clean and easy to follow, which may appeal to newer readers or those looking for a light, topical read. However, it never truly surprised me, challenged me, or gripped me in the way I hoped.After reading Everything I Never Told You by the same author — which I found far more subtle and impactful — this novel felt more like a made-for-TV narrative than a soul-stirring piece of fiction.In short: a good introduction for readers new to literary fiction, but for those who crave layered storytelling and deep emotional resonance, it may fall a bit flat.

ᵀᵒ ᵃ ᵖᵃʳᵉⁿᵗ, ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈ ʷᵃˢⁿ'ᵗ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵃ ᵖᵉʳˢᵒⁿ: ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈ ʷᵃˢ ᵃ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ, ᵃ ᵏⁱⁿᵈ ᵒᶠ ᴺᵃʳⁿⁱᵃ, ᵃ ᵛᵃˢᵗ ᵉᵗᵉʳⁿᵃˡ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖʳᵉˢᵉⁿᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵉʳᵉ ˡⁱᵛⁱⁿᵍ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵃˢᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ʳᵉᵐᵉᵐᵇᵉʳᵉᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵘᵗᵘʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒⁿᵍᵉᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵃˡˡ ᵃᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵃᵐᵉ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ. ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ˢᵉᵉ ⁱᵗ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒᵒᵏᵉᵈ ᵃᵗ ʰᵉʳ: ˡᵃʸᵉʳᵉᵈ ⁱⁿ ʰᵉʳ ᶠᵃᶜᵉ ʷᵃˢ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵃᵇʸ ˢʰᵉ'ᵈ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈ ˢʰᵉ'ᵈ ᵇᵉᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵃᵈᵘˡᵗ ˢʰᵉ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵍʳᵒʷ ᵘᵖ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ, ᵃⁿᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵃʷ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ᵃˡˡ ˢⁱᵐᵘˡᵗᵃⁿᵉᵒᵘˢˡʸ, ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵃ ³⁻ᴰ ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉ. ᴵᵗ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵉᵃᵈ ˢᵖⁱⁿ. ᴵᵗ ʷᵃˢ ᵃ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ʳᵉᶠᵘᵍᵉ, ⁱᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᵏⁿᵉʷ ʰᵒʷ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ⁱⁿ. ᴬⁿᵈ ᵉᵃᶜʰ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵉᶠᵗ ⁱᵗ, ᵉᵃᶜʰ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈ ᵖᵃˢˢᵉᵈ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˢⁱᵍʰᵗ, ʸᵒᵘ ᶠᵉᵃʳᵉᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐⁱᵍʰᵗ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵇᵉ ᵃᵇˡᵉ ᵗᵒ ʳᵉᵗᵘʳⁿ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ ᵃᵍᵃⁱⁿ. (ᶜᵉˡᵉˢᵗᵉ ᴺᵍ)A story highlighting the contrasting lives of others, the influence our choices make, the importance of being kind, and how race and class are as relevant as ever.I read 'Everything I never told you' a while back, which is when I first realised how strong my love for family-dynamics in a books wore. This one was no different in that aspect. It considered the winding overlap between two very different families, living in the same neighbourhood.Celeste Ng takes the reader deep into the lives of each character, weaving storylines together to create the complex idea of others' lives.It made me think about how different my life would be if just one thing was different, especially the impact our parents have on us.I found myself changing my opinions of the characters so much in this book, as details are uncovered and events take place.The book has one main storyline running through that tackles race, class, adoption, values and mistakes, which is told in such a compelling way that makes you really debate where you stand.Celeste also looks at the differences in how people choose to live their lives; those who follow rules and those who are more free-spirited; those who work for money and those who work for love; those who find kindness in everyone and those who struggle with it.I really enjoyed this book, it was slow at times but honestly it's worth the noise it's created. Can't wait to see if the series lives up to the hype. 😁 4/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great book