Little Fires Everywhere

The focus and triumph of Little Fires Everywhere is its characters. Ng shows who her characters are by showing you why they are the way they are; how they look at the world and their role in it. This is a book that prompts readers to consider complex questions about identity/family, morality, classism, absolutism. That's why I loved that even the characters I hated had redeeming qualities. People with good intentions can do tremendous damage. What do we do about that?

It's an interesting depiction (arguably, condemnation) of people that consider themselves enlightened and progressive and generous even as their lifestyles and perspectives are exclusive, judgmental, paternalistic, materialistic. People fail to see fundamental incompatibilities between the abstract ideals they subscribe and aspire to and the actual choices they make and attitudes they hold.

Delusions of grandeur drive a Shaker Heights mentality. No one can consciously divorce themselves from the unsavory bits of existence by ensuring every lawn is neatly mowed. Ng makes this point subtly, but by the end of the book she has exposed the dark underbelly of a fastidious peppy facade.

I also liked the focus on reproductive healthcare as a prevalent factor in family dynamics. It was nice to see topics like adoption and surrogacy and abortion—to sum it up the immense impact of pregnancy— normalized as phenomena impacting so many individuals, families, and larger communities. How our ideas about sex and babies and suitability for parenthood shape whose pain is centered and whose pain shut behind doors or regarded as mere collateral damage. How age and financial security and shared DNA enter into our assessments of who is ready and/or suited for motherhood. What family means, if we can even say anything definitive about it.

It will make you sad, it will make you mad, and it will make you think.