In Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, the seemingly idyllic suburban community of Shaker Heights, Ohio, is upended by the arrival of Mia Warren, an artist with a mysterious past, and her daughter Pearl. Their interactions with the affluent Richardson family—particularly with matriarch Elena—ignite a series of events that expose deep-seated tensions surrounding race, privilege, motherhood, and identity. At the heart of the novel is a contentious custody battle over a Chinese-American infant, which forces the community to confront its own biases and moral compass. Ng masterfully intertwines personal and societal conflicts, creating a poignant narrative that examines the complexities of belonging and the consequences of judgment.
Editorial Reviews
"Little Fires Everywhere is a compelling exploration of the weight of long-held secrets and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that planning and following rules can avert disaster." —The New York Times
“[Ng] captures her setting with an ethnologist’s authority...And there are time-capsule pleasures in her evocation of 1997...The writing is poised.” —Wall Street Journal
About the Author
Celeste Ng (pronounced "ing") is an American novelist born in 1980 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, she graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan. Her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, won the Amazon Book of the Year award in 2014. Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a Hulu miniseries in 2020. Ng's work often explore themes of family dynamics, identity, and societal expectations. She has received numerous accolades, including a Pushcart Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
