28.8.18

BOOK BLOG: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

In the placid, progressive suburb of Shaker Heights everything is meticulously planned, from the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson.
Mia Warren, an enigmatic artist and single mother, arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all the four Richardson children are drawn to the alluring mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When the Richardson's friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town and puts Mia and Mrs Richardson on opposing sides. Mrs Richardson becomes determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost to her own family- and Mia's. 

Publisher: Abacus
Pages: 388

I ordered this book after hearing Reese Witherspoon talking about it. Only when it arrived did I realise who the author was, I very much enjoyed her first book, Everything I Never Told You.
Celeste Ng has crafted a fantastic story in Little Fires Everywhere. I cannot begin to explain how many layers there are and how beautifully the author weaves them together.
For me, this is very much a story about motherhood and what it truly means to be a mother, whether naturally or through other means. Ng looks at the different ways we parent and the impact our decisions have on our children.
Elena Richardson and Mia Warren could not be any more different yet they are both mothers. They offer each others children something they are missing in one way or another. Mrs Richardson's life if governed by rules and order so it is no surprise that her children are drawn to Mia's wilfulness and spontaneity. On the other hand, Pearl is enticed by Mrs Richardson's comfortable and orderly home, the safety net of the routine she provides her children with.
The questions that Celeste Ng raises in this book are fascinating and I was left with so much to think about at the end. One of my favourite aspects of the book were the descriptions of Mia's photography, they were so intricately explained that I could easily imagine the beautiful work she had created.
Little Fires Everywhere is one of my favourite books of 2018, I highly recommend that you read this beautiful and enlightening book.

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