I picked up this book, "Little Fires Everywhere," initially at a library which I visited while up north. It was one of those books which they were selling, and it looked intriguing enough to pay the 50 cents that they were asking for the book. It was on my list of books to begin reading soon.
Then I happened on it in my library, in audiobook form. So I decided to go ahead and take it out. Lately, in the past couple of years or so, I have begun listening to audiobooks a whole lot more than ever before. And so, I began to read this one, without admittedly knowing much about either the story or the author.
And you know what? It was really, really good! It actually reminded me in some ways of another book, one which my mom really loves, and first introduced me to. That would be "Have You Ever Had a Family?" by Bill Clegg. To be sure, they are very different books, with very different characters, and an overall very different feel. Yet, there are certain similarities, including this one: they are definitely both worth reading!
This one takes place in sometime in the nineties in a somewhat posh suburb outside of Cleveland. It shows a bit of both the best and the worst that such a suburb offers, from being a seemingly peaceful place and ideal place to raise a family, to the pettiness and narrow-mindedness of many of it's residents, including the petty gossip of the unknown, of assuming that the court of public gossip is indeed enough to pass judgement on that which we not actually fully understand.
Without going into too much details, we get to know two families, who's own lives have intersected intimately. One is a large, seemingly ideal modern American family. A true success story, with two successful parents and four kids, two boys and two girls. These kids are typical teens themselves, caught p in all of the drama of modern teens. The other family is small: just an enigmatic mother and her daughter, both living largely quiet, mysterious lives.
The story is not told chronologically. Indeed, this book begins at the end, after a major fire had destroyed the home of one of the main families involved. The blame for the fire is being debated, and everything appears mysterious. We then learn that this house is located in a town called Shaker Heights, and we get an overview of exactly what kind of typical American suburb these people live in. Then, we begin to meet the main characters.
In the process of telling this story, Celeste Ng juggles many smaller themes that play an important role within the story, albeit often as background. Many of the very same major issues that polarize the United States today are addressed. This includes racism, classism, economic inequality, urban violence, immigration, teen sex, abortions, and others. Indeed, this feels like she is fulfilling the title of the book quite capably, showing the tensions that erupt into small fires, and at least figuratively contribute to the much bigger fire that ultimately consumes everything at the end of this story.
Without getting into any spoilers, I just wanted to give a brief description of what made me get into this book. Again, it was on sale for 50 cents at a local library (not in my hometown of Hillsborough), and since it had been on the New York Times Bestseller list, I figured that there was a good chance that it was good. Once I began to read it, there were certain things in the way that the author capably described the town of Shaker Heights, specifically, that figuratively made my ears perk up, made me pay attention. And from that point onward, I was hooked, engaged in the story, and interested in what as happening with each character and in the chemistry between the characters. It was definitely a good read, and you will likely find yourself both entertained and emotionally engaged. A very good book. Good enough that I will personally be on the lookout for more books from this author in the future. To me, that's saying something.
Definitely highly recommended!
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