Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng opens near the end of the story with Isabelle (Izzy) Richardson burning down her family’s home. The premise of the title comes from the little fires Izzy set in each of the beds, but will soon become a metaphor for the flares in the people who live in Shaker Heights.
Perhaps the plot is about the Richardson family in the planned community where rules are followed – the layout of roads, the color of the houses, the proper successful lives the residents are to lead. Elena Richardson, mother of the four teenage children, leads the pack in knowing and following the rules. Her lawyer husband provides a good living while she sandwiches a small job as a journalist for the local newspaper into her housewifely and community activities.
Perhaps the plot is about artist Mia and her daughter Pearl who become tenants in the rental property the Richardsons own. Mia becomes an attraction to the Richardson children, maybe because she sees life in shades rather than the black-and-white rules of Shaker Heights. Pearl is drawn to the Richardsons, perhaps because there is a stability that she has never experienced.
Perhaps the plot is about the Richardson’s friends who try to adopt a Chinese-American baby and the court battle with the natural mother that puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides of the issue.
Or maybe, it’s the story of the permeating angst surrounding the five teenagers. With enough secrets to go around, Celeste Ng skillfully tells the story in flashbacks and uncoverings that run in unexpected directions.
I felt a need when I finished the book to go back and read the first chapter again to see if everything was there, and it was. The sensation I felt as I read was that of being wrapped up in a a good story with the realization, after the fact, that Celeste brings some real issues to her tale. The people in the book and the questions it raises have lingered in my mind after I closed the reread of the first chapter.