Little Fires Everywhere

It's hard to describe what this book is about. At the beginning you're dropped in dramatically, a family mansion is burning down, and we don't know what happened. But in flashbacks, we learn. It's a family drama story about a poor single mom, Mia, and her teenage daughter, living as tenants of the wealthy Richardson family in 'perfect' suburbia. But Mia has secrets from her past, and she soon clashes with Elena Richardson. It's predominantly a book about women. About growing up as a woman, motherhood, tough stuff like abortion, and the mean things women do to each other. Male characters play side-roles, but this book is really not about them. The writing is quite excellent, once it grabs you, there's no letting go. I enjoyed myself quite a bit.

Ng does it again! I LOVED Everything I Never Told You because of the writing style, and this is no different. I feel like she stepped up her game as well. This story is not just about one family, but about a different set of families whose lives are intertwined, sometimes literally and sometimes thematically. One thing I love about her books is that she always manages to make me empathize with everyone in the story. She treats very complex issues with a lot of respect and nuance. There are no bad guys in her novels, simply people making choices, which sometimes might be questionable, but as a reader you always understand where they come from. This woman is a genius.

Ng's storytelling chops are downright amazing. The story is interleaved, starting near the end, a senseless event, and the rest of the story follows, making sense of the inexplicable. Along the way, we learn about Mia & Pearl, outsiders in this "perfect" community, and the Richardsons, the McCulloughs, and a desperate mother who wants her baby back. Ng shows us all of them, their best and their worst, letting the reader draw their own conclusions, though it's clear who the author favors in the outcome. Still, we are asked to feel compassion even for the villains, and know them so well, understanding how they have failed themselves and those they love, it is not so much to ask.