Little Fires Everywhere
Large Print - 2017 | Large print edition
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Add a QuoteIf a soul could leave a body, she thought, this is the sound it would make: like the screech of a nail being pulled from old wood.
"But the problem with rules, he reflected, was that they implied a right way and a wrong way to do things. When, in fact, most of the time there were simply ways, none of them quite wrong or quite right, and nothing to tell you for sure which side of the line you stood on."
"Like after a prairie fire. I saw one, years ago, when we were in Nebraska. It seems like the end of the world. The earth is all scorched and black and everything green is gone. But after the burning the soil is richer and new things can grow."
TheBookWitch
Apr 14, 2018
"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 existed at once. 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." p. 122
ArapahoeMaryA
Mar 15, 2018
Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.
“…his life had been divided into a before and an after, and he would always be comparing the two.” - p. 21
“All her life, she had learned that passion, like fire, was a dangerous thing. It so easily went out of control. It scaled walls and jumped over trenches. Sparks leapt like fleas and spread as rapidly; a breeze could carry embers for miles. Better to control that spark and pass it carefully from one generation to the next, like an Olympic torch. Or, perhaps, to tend it carefully like an eternal flame; a reminder of light and goodness that would never - could never - set anything ablaze. Carefully controlled. Domesticated. Happy in captivity. The key, she thought, was to avoid conflagration.” - p. 161
“Rules existed for a reason: if you followed them, you would succeed; if you didn't, you might burn the world to the ground.” - p. 161
“One had followed the rules, and one had not. But the problem with rules... was that they implied a right way and a wrong way to do things. When, in fact, most of the time they were simply ways, none of them quite wrong or quite right, and nothing to tell you for sure what side of the line you stood on.” - p. 269
“Sometimes, just when you think everything’s gone, you find a way… Like after a prairie fire… It seems like the end of the world. The earth is all scorched and black and everything green is gone. But after the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow… People are like that, too, you know. They start over. They find a way.” - p. 295
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Add a CommentI loved Little Fires Everywhere. It takes about a third of the book to build to the real plot point of the book, but I honestly didn’t care. Ng’s description of the characters and their lives have me truly fascinated. It could’ve been a road to nowhere and I would have gladly walked down it. Luckily it was not a road to nowhere. The discussion of race, family, life, and motherhood in particular were done in a way to make you both cringe and sympathize with each character. You walk away knowing nobody was fully right or wrong and that each one was trying to live their best/most authentic life from their point of view. I loved this book and will be recommending it to many people in the future.
It has to be hard for an author when your book is added to a celebrity's read list. There is so much pressure and so much hype just because a well-known person said it was great. I think the hype (and the wait list) on this novel was overdone. It was a fine novel but all the hype made me wanting it to be more powerful, and it just wasn't. At times there was depth but for the most part, I found it to be a bit immature. I preferred the parts of the story that focused on the adults rather than the storyline of the teenagers. On a more positive note, the focus of idolizing perfection and order was an interesting theme, and sometimes you have to just burn it all down and start over. I am glad I read book. It did not drag on at all for me, I just wanted a little more from it.
My least favorite book from Reese’s list. Very slow beginning. Took me 6 weeks to finish because it was so slow moving. Don’t waste your time on this one.
The book is wonderfully written. A joy to read.
The author, Celeste Ng, raised questions and cause readers to think deeper about the different needs and perspectives of people of diverse social economic status, ethnic background, professions, and personalities.
The interactions(or conflict, to be truthful) between parents and their teens in this book are very interesting. The arguments from different angles about cross-racial adoption are intriquing, too. I adore the author's effort in tackling so many social issues in this book! Last but not least, many friends said the book is better than the TV seires. I agree. You can find out for yourself!
celeste ng writes the themes of this book in such a unique way. she explores motherhood as well as the love that someone can have for their child in a distinct manner that made me connect to the characters on another level. i could not put this book down. the way that the characters grow around each other is insane and ng writes them in a way that you understand them more as you go through the book.
Story of mother and daughter who move into new town, connect with big family. Great book.
So so I wanted to like it but to me it was too superficial. Trendy maybe but artificial. Only 2 stars for this one.
A quick read that is enjoyable, but not quite as rave worthy as I thought it would be!
A wonderful book about how gossip and rumors spread, and that not everyone is exactly who you think they are. As the title implies, I felt like this story left several loose ends and didn't "wrap up" as nicely as my anxious self would have liked. I have not seen the tv show based on the book, however, now I would like to and see how they compare.
This is a fascinating slow paced tale about two very different families brought together by their children. The story revolves around casual racism in wealthy suburban Ohio, but the sometimes-tense relationships between family members is a huge part of the drama. The writing is excellent and the story is packed with realistic emotion. The book explores what it means to be a mother, and how mothers affect their daughters. While burning the cherished family home to the ground, this book reminds us that sometimes there are no perfect answers, even for those of us who follow all the right rules.