Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere: A Captivating Novel of Family Ties and Unexpected Consequences

KB: A gripping read. There are really little fires going on everywhere. Very well written.

United Kingdom on Oct 26, 2023

Amazon Customer: Author Celeste Ng wrote an excellent book, but given todays culture of a narrowing media narrative and limited rights of freedom of speech, the storyline is, in my opinion, prophetic. Threatening to remove the children from parents—forever— if they are not acting in a politically correct manner is a genius but grotesque move. I’m sure some countries have already used this strategy to keep their people under control. Still a scary but plausible plot.

United States on Oct 14, 2023

Celia Ritchie: A very good read, but I wasn’t expecting an ending which didn’t feel like an ending! Not sure if I am disappointed or not about that. Totally still worth reading though.

United Kingdom on Oct 08, 2023

Wendt Sabine Gertrud: Una storia che sorprende nella complessità dei suoi caratteri e con svolte inaspettate fino alla fine. Una storia straordinaria raccontata da una scrittrice straordinaria! Il personaggio di MIA nella sua squisita sensibilità rimarrà nel mio cuore!

Italy on Aug 13, 2023

Lily: It’s a good and because of the tv show it’s well known. I bought this second hand as I have many times but was disappointed to see someone made notes, underlined words all through the book. Luckily in pencil but spoilt it for me enjoying the read.

United Kingdom on Aug 10, 2023

EthanEthan: I've mused before about those books that it seems like everyone reads. It is rare, but every once in a while a novel comes along that seems to universally grab readers. I tend to be behind the curve with such titles, waiting for the hype to die down a bit before diving in. It should be no surprise then that it has taken me this long to read Celeste Ng's acclaimed Little Fires Everywhere. I was aware of the book when it was published in 2017, and I was reminded of it when the mini-series based on the novel was released in 2020. Still, it wasn't until last week that I decided to finally give it a read. As is often the case with these buzzy titles, I was left wondering why it took me so long to see what all the hype was about.

Shaker Heights is the master-planned community that suburban dreams of being made of. Every last detail of this place is meticulously thought out, ensuring peace and happiness to all who call the area home. Perhaps no one aligns with the values of Shaker Heights quite like Elena Richardson. In her mind, her life represents the quintessential American dream. Mrs. Richardson has a loving husband whose law practice provides the family with a comfortable...

United States on May 04, 2023

Ralph Blumenau: This novel is one of the most gripping, insightful, intricately plotted and complex ones I have ever read. Everything, especially the main characters in the story, is wonderfully described. It is set in 1998 in Shaker Heights, the prosperous little city just outside Cleveland, Ohio, where the American author spent her school years. It is a planned community, very prim and proper, with detailed rules about what its residents may not do.

The book opens with Bill and Elena Richardson’s prosperous home in Shaker Heights being burnt down, presumably by their youngest daughter, Isabelle (Izzy), about 14, who had a history of crazily rebellious behaviour and who had now disappeared. She has a sister, Lexie (18) and two brothers, Trip (17), and Moody (15). The author is very good on teenagers.

After the description of the fire, the story moves back in time until we come back to the fire at the end. Mrs Richardson is conventional but also generally liberal and generous, although she also has some unlikeable characteristics, and is, in fact, the most complex figure in the book. She owned a duplex property in the less wealthy part of the town, which she liked to rent out at a...

United Kingdom on Apr 29, 2018

The Belle: This month in my book club, it was my pick. I have been dying to read Little Fires Everywhere going on a year now – seriously – but just haven’t had the time with review work obligations. I really need to find a better balance of work reading versus pleasure reading, especially as my TBR pile has multiplied to a ridiculous amount, spilling from my bedside table onto my desk, with the excess stacked up in two dangerously tall piles in my library.

Little Fires Everywhere did not disappoint. And I’m glad of it, since my pleasure reading time is so precious to me. I’m also always a little nervous when picking a book for my book club. I’d hate to pick a dud (my friend Kelley did one month and we haven’t let her live it down yet, ha ha!) and I’m always conscious of everyone else’s reading preferences. We are a bit of an eclectic mix who fall into several different reading preference categories, but the four of us generally can agree if a book is good or bad. I’ve been waiting on pins and needles to hear if they liked Fires as much as I did and luckily, they enjoyed it nearly as much as I did.

This book was . . . well, overall, it was simply a portrait...

United States on Mar 16, 2018