A review by karenchase
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

5.0

I don't often find myself reading the "it" book, and I suppose the buzz on this one has died away somewhat. But this is a beautiful book, and it deserves every accolade it has gotten. I'm not sure I've ever read a book whose narration is so supple, the perspective shifting so imperceptibly I wouldn't realize it had changed until I'd read several sentences. Or paragraphs. This is a story of parents and children, particularly mothers and daughters. As a mother and a daughter I can appreciate the passion, intimacy and subtlety of both sides of the relationship. This is also a story about convention and expectation, whether it is necessary to follow rules, or even, which rules should be followed. On the surface it is a classic "fish out of water" story, in which a pebble in invited into a still pond, and proves to be so quietly unruly that the waters might never be calm again. Subplots become momentous and weave together into something explosive, which ultimately dissolves into everyday life.