Perfectly stated in your review: “Apparently, if you’re a rebel, and you flout convention, you can do really shitty fucking things but still have the moral high ground over everyone else who lives in a suburb.”
You are so spot on!! I came to the book with great expectations. I began reading and within a few chapters, became puzzled with all the hoopla. Yes, it is a page-turner based on compelling plots, but poorly written. Language has no flair, no creativity, just straight-forward exposition. A basic creative writing class would encourage students to "show me; don't TELL me." Ng just tells us and tells us again (and again) the points she wants us to "get"-- like Mrs. Richardson's planned life, Izzy's unhappy rebelliousness. I was worried about how to explain my disappointment to my book club, but you have clarified my thinking. Thank you.
spot-on, I felt the exact same thing about her trying to put her characters into these fixed boxes and decided which ones are the bad ones or the good ones. Also, her portraying of Maya as this perfect figure having higher morals giving her the right to leave behind sketches judging every single one of that family was disgusting to me. The fact that Izzy just burned the house and left her family and how was that portrayed as ok was mind boggling to me, and so many other details that will need pages for me to finish!
I know this is an old video but I just reread LFE and I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear you speak the the truth about the important issues addressed in the book. (PS. Don't even get me started on the TV adaptation)
Awesome review! Even though I loved this book so much I can definitely see the points you're making, some that I never even considered! I really like the way you talked about the book in depth, and I like seeing booktubers with unpopular opinions because this book is praised everywhere! I subscribed! :)
Thanks so much, Gabby! It's always nice to hear a different opinion about a book (especially in response to a negative review) - have you read Celeste Ng's other novel, Everything I Never Told You? I really enjoyed that one, and I bet you would really like it if you enjoyed Little Fires :)
You're welcome! Yes I always love hearing different opinions! Because people who have the opposite opinion always think of something you probably didn't so it's always interesting! And no I haven't yet, but I'm hoping to read it soon! :)
Love your review! I read this one a while ago and thought it was overhyped but wasn't able to fully grasp the actual details that bothered me in the book. You captured them (plus some) very well here. It's not the worst book but given all the hype around it I appreciate a review like this that is grounding and critical.
I'm so behind on my booktube watch-list! I'm so glad I finally got around to watching this review. Bless you for using actual examples from the text to demonstrate your discussions. That is something I need to work on in my reviews! Again, you amaze me with your thoughtfulness and detail. I never really planned on reading this novel, so thank you for gleaning some thoughts for me. I can discuss it with customers at my store now :)
Thank you for watching! I appreciate it, especially because I know not everyone likes to watch reviews, and I'm glad if it was in any way helpful for you - I was going to ask how many new releases you have to/try to read for your job (I imagine it's hard to keep up with all of them and that you sometimes would have to rely on reviews and general buzz to help give recommendations...but I wasn't sure how you approach it!).
I just finished reading this book and could not agree more with your review. Plot was quickly pulled in so many directions that I never had any closure on any of the BIG issues discussed. I do agree that her writing is very readable but unfortunately this one fell flat for me too. I am interested in reading her first novel, Everything I Never Told You, as it has great reviews. But is it a case of fool me once?
I'm so glad this was helpful! I really liked Everything I Never Told You when I read it, but it definitely had some of the elements of this book that weren't my favorite (notably, the annoying overuse of similes, characters that verged on one-dimensional/stereotypical, and plot arcs that were a little cliched). But I think Everything I Never Told You is a much stronger book because the focus is so much tighter-she's really zeroed in on this one nuclear family, and the book is about race and identity, but it's also more broadly about parents wanting their kids to be something they're not, and for me there were some really heartbreaking scenes that made me tear up a bit. It's also shorter and more compact in general, so I don't know...I don't want to say definitely go read it in case you hate it, but I also think it's worth a shot. :)
I've read EINTY and enjoyed it. It focuses on one family of mixed Asian-Caucasian race and set in the 60s to 80s. Haven't read LFE but do at least have a listen to her at the book launch at Politics and Prose bookstore ruclips.net/video/1qgsXs7CTx0/видео.html
I can FINALLY watch this now that I’ve read it! I agree so much with your points, from the one-dimensional use of exposition and the whole simile/metaphor dynamic used too repetitively. My main gripe is that Ng seems to be writing for such a general reader in an accessible way (which is great!) but the whole nature of the politics was so simplified, I was so disappointed. However, I do love the thematic ideas going on, especially Mia’s thoughts on motherhood considering her own denouncement of her parents and how that might be why she gives Pearl so much liberty to do things (which sadly for Pearl, only seems to revolve around Trip of ALL PEOPLE who is so boring and predictable.) Anyways, I had a lot of thoughts too haha but I guess that is so telling of, how you say, Ng is so readable!
Yay!! I watched your wrap up yesterday while doing some housework (and then I forgot to go back and comment later when my hands were free!), but I loved your thoughts on it! I totally agree that one of my biggest issues was the oversimplification of the BIG issues she raised in the book...I just don't think she had enough space to flesh out those ideas or storylines or characters in a ~300 page book. And YES Trip!! So boring (also such an eye-rolling-ly not realistic storyline...like I'm sorry but the hot high school jock doesn't ever fall for the mousy girl IRL). But Celeste Ng is super readable, even if I didn't love this book :)
One thing I found super weird was how chill the Richardson family reacted to their house being burnt down - really?? I don't know anybody who'd look at all one's possessions being lost in a fire and just going "oh well, sister/daughter finally did it". Also thought that Linda might get a petition going with all her mummy friends confirming what a fit mother she is. Really didn't like the part "just got a new Chinese baby that nobody would come looking for". What I did like was the juxtaposition of feeling at home with birth parents and / or other motherly figures, especially Mia and Lexie. On the whole I did enjoy it, though it really had a "Desperate Housewives" feel to it.
You explained the problematic points of this book so effortlessly I really admire that about you! I only picked this book up yesterday even though it was published like 3 years ago, and I thought it would be this amazing thing just like everyone was praising and it wasn't! So I'm very glad to hear your disagreements of it !
Here’s what I said on Goodreads: I gave it a 3.5 to 4. It’s clearly written, has vivid characters, and it’s a real page turner. It’s part detective story, part YA-coming of age novel, part social commentary. I wished there was more introspection, more inner dialogue and less plot machinations which sometimes felt contrived. But this kind of writing lends itself readily to a screen adaptation. I would add that the writing has a highly competent, efficient, mechanical quality to it. Well constructed, well planned (like Shaker heights), but I prefer a more lyrical and/or deeper exposition which separates a good story from art in my opinion.
Wow, I agree with everything you said here! And I agree that it really would make for a great screen adaptation (especially something like a miniseries). Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
So, what I didn't get is how or when the mother had her portrait and that of her baby taken by her mentor. She had already come back home pregnant, and then she kinda disappears with her baby. In that museum photo she is described as a spider. I thought it wasn't explained at all. Or maybe I didn't get it among all the melodrama with the chinese baby.
I also felt like she would have had more success talking about racial identity had Mirabelle's case been one that would have gone differently had she been white, I remember there is a part in which someone says "we wouldn't be having this discussion had Mirabelle been white and blonde", which I thought was one of the most ridiculous things Celeste Ng could have written there, because I don't know if she's implying white people don't abandon their kids or that white kids don't get adopted by different race parents as well, and it was also odd in the sense that Bebe's whole case was that she would be a better mom because she was Chinese, which ??????, if any jury passed that they would have to second guess every single adoption in the country, it's crazy. And also Mia was absolutely one of the most annoying and just inconsistent characters ever, when she was pregnant with Pearl people kept saying "how are you gonna sell your baby?" When pearl ISN'T her baby at all, not even a little bit. I feel like it would have made more sense had she been on the McCuloughs side of "love makes a family and not blood" but instead she was acting like she was entitled of Pearl, which just made me hate her character a lot, since it seems like the McCuloughs were in the same situation she was, of the biological parents having more rights over the kid she thinks it's her baby. I honestly wanted to strangle Mia throughout the whole book, she was SOOO annoying, and so were Pearl and the Robertson children.
"I just need Celeste Ng to not be telling me who I should be rooting for and who I shouldn't be rooting for." Couldn't agree more! Interesting topics, but not much room for the reader to form their own opinions. I also thought that the abortion conversation with Mia was weak, given that 1) Like you said, Mia's word on the issue shouldn't be any more "sacred" than anyone else's, and 2) it felt to me like the author's way of trying to appease critics on both sides of the issue and then to move on without any more questions asked, but for me this was more profoundly unsatisfying than taking either side would have been. Nice review!
I need to read Everything I Never Told You first before I dive into Little Fires Everywhere. I think you explained your thoughts really well - I will just have to see what I particularly think! I've seen lots of 5 stars so when I saw your 2 stars on Goodreads I was intrigued about your thoughts
Yeah, I filmed a whole bit about how much I liked Everything I Never Told You and how excited I was about Little Fires Everywhere because of it (had to cut for time, haha) - so I would still really recommend that book a lot. There were still some weird similes that struck me as clunky, and I found the mother to be a little bit of a caricature, but I just found it much tighter and more focused than Little Fires (probably because it was really zeroed in on one family). And I also found it very moving and cried a couple times, too (which doesn't happen to me very often!). And I recommended it to a couple people who both liked it a lot when they read it, too. So I think I still might check out her next book depending on what it's about - and she's a great Twitter follow either way :)
THANK YOU FOR THIS REVIEW. I know I’m super late to this video but I recently finished this book and hated it for all the reasons you mentioned. I was deeply disturbed and angered by this book’s implicit messages about biological motherhood and I’m so glad you could articulate yourself so well and get this across. It made feel a lot better about not liking this book, so thank you
Thank you so much for speaking up because I read so many great things about Celeste Ng and I read her last book before this one, "All the Things I Never Told You" and it bored me to pieces. From how you descried it, this one sounds about as good as the last one and there for I'm not interested. This is why I like spoiler reviews, because people don't just dance around what's going on between the pages. You have definitely talked my out of reading this book and wasting more of my time on her. Thank you Claire.
I recently read this book, in anticipation of the tv series and though overall I enjoyed the book (minus the terrible ending) I can’t disagree with any of the points you made. The overuse of similes in particular is one point I 100% agree with. I also found it irritating that we spent so much time delving into flashbacks and the past and not enough time exploring the characters in the present. In particular I felt there was so much potential for the relationship between Trip and Pearl (and Trip’s character overall) yet that seemed glazed over and I hated that we were, in a sense, told rather than shown a lot of their important conversations.
I found myself saying “yes completely” to so many points you made throughout your review! Although, admittedly, I did read this book fairly quickly, I also found myself skipping over passages because of writing that seemed to go on. And on. And on. You hit the nail on the head referring to her use of similes. I also felt confused on what the main theme or concept I was supposed to take away...perhaps there wasn’t just one but all unclear feeling remains regardless. Thanks for sharing your review!
Thanks so much, Mary! Yeah, I thought this book was just kind of all over the place in terms of plot, characters, and tone - so I felt similarly confused about how I was supposed to be feeling about the characters and what was happening to them!
I wondered if it was just me. This book is getting such praise and I was unimpressed - for many of the same reasons you give. Thank you for posting this.
Haven't read, but excellent video! I like all the thought you put into this. Yes, authors must avoid "speed bumps" that jolt the reader out of the story -- one of my pet peeves. Similes are difficult because they only work when the reader goes "Yes, exactly!" Which is rare. They can't be used just as a device. Also the author has to make their point of view persuasive to all readers: Charlotte Bronte has to convince us that Jane Eyre is doing the right thing, & that Rochester deserves forgiveness. Finally, it may be just your take, but it sounds like Ng has some rather illogical views on family, which can be easily discounted based on observation -- but not having read it I'll go no further. Great analysis!
Thanks so much! These are all really good points - and in general I really like Celeste Ng (I follow her on Twitter, where she's pretty active and outspoken), and I agree with a lot of her politics and thoughts about the world, but I also believe she is the mother of a young-ish child, so a lot of this book was about motherhood and some of the ideas in the book just rubbed me the wrong way - but it also might just be a symptom of her not fully exploring or fleshing out those topics, too.
I'm responding several years after this post because I have only recently discovered you, and I'm listening to your reviews of books I've read. You are spot on with this review! I actually would have been much harsher. I find Celeste Ng's writing to be so boring. For such short novels, they feel so long to me. I read her first novel and this one because I thought I was missing something. But I'm reading the comments that share my same feelings. Also, I find your reviews to be so wonderful!
I haven’t read the book, and now when I come to think of it - I probably won’t. I watch a tv series version though, and it left me confused. I liked many of the themes it covered and I saw potential there, but the execution just didn’t live up to my expectations. It was one of those things I really wanted to like and was surprised I didn’t.
I'm 15% through this book and was really liking it. I noticed the similes also, and each time I'm hit with one, I pause and think 'what does that mean'. This is about the best book review I have ever seen!
I dont know how you did it, but you described my every thought about this book. Perfectly articulated. I am now a big fan! LOL And a new subscriber. You are great.
Thanks so much for watching, Tia! I so appreciate when people share their thoughts, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who was underwhelmed by this book, haha xx
I completely agree with your review! You’ve articulated my boughs perfectly. Especially about the ideas on motherhood and being forced to like one character over the other. Great review!
My one criticism is that I don't think its possible for a VW Rabbit to last as long as Mia's. Just a thought. You know she was putting miles on the thing.
*spoiler ALERT* I disagree on the abortion subject. I think what she portrayed was one girl's view on how she felt after. Doesnt mean it represents everyone. I dont know about you but once Lexie had the abortion I felt sadness and knew that she wouldn't be able to see Brian the same. Also I dont think Mia was held with great regards...she just had a dark past. I believe that Mrs.Richardson believing that living this perfect life she had everything under control and instead of dedicating true time to her children she neglected them emotionally. Whe she thought Izzy had Moody"s baby aborted, her approach was ridiculous and I can see mothers being that way. However what Mia did was detestable in every way. I didn't see a heroine in this book at all. As I read I saw lots of troubled people Izzy was truly mentally ill, and her mother never did anything to help her, thus brings the subject of mental illness. Being a mother is complex and the way Celeste views it is her way of believing it, doesnt mean she believes everyone should. It's her point of view. I think the baby should have never been given back to the biological mom...if anything I think I hated BEBE the most. She def neglected that child from the start. But that this book reads just like a movie you've read me exactly! I felt the same way.
God you summed it up perfectly. I just hated Ngs assertion that a child will always do better with their biological mother, even if that means the child grows up in complete poverty (like bebe’s daughter) or has to grow up constantly moving with no chance to make any lasting friendships (like Pearls case). Ng takes incredibly complex topics like class, racism, interracial adoption, conformity and reduces it to two clear cut “sides where one is good and one is bad.
It's so interesting to hear a dissenting opinion for a book that everyone has been raving about! I guess I'll just have to read it for myself and figure out what I think!
I would love to hear your thoughts on it whenever you read it! I am obviously in the minority on this one, so it's been nice to hear everyone's reaction to it. :)
I just bought this book at Barnes and Noble sale, so it’s on my TBR. I’m going to move it up the line and read it as soon as I can. My husband and I adopted our daughter (42 years ago) and I always cringe when that “biological is better” attitude comes along. Thanks for the review. I’ll let you know what I think as soon as I read it. Must first finish the one I’m now reading-The Lost Queen by Signe Pike. It’s great!
Thank you so much for this review! I'm almost finished LFE now and you articulated a lot of the things I found problematic about the book but wasn't able to put into words myself. You've gained a new subscriber!
SPOILER ALERT!!! I’m writing a paper over the topic of Mia essentially kidnapping pearl but I’m not sure if Pearl is biologically Mia’s daughter or if Pearl was fully conceived by the Ryan’s and Mia was just carrying pearl for them??
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They really helped me articulate my feelings about the book, as I have mixed feelings about this book as well. Part of me loves this book because I enjoy the way she writes and both of her books have interesting premises and I think she creates characters with distinct personalities (despite them being one-dimensional, as you mentioned). But I, too, think that her writing can be a bit stuffy at times. She loves making long sentences with that long dash! But, it's that descriptive writing that makes the story so easy to visualize. I also liked that she chose to write in 3rd person omniscient. Getting inside the heads of multiple characters really made me invested in what was happening and I felt like I got to know so many characters. After I finished this book, I remember thinking, "I can't tell if I should like this book, but I do." I finished it in one day, so it has to be good, right? Yet I felt like I needed to immediately reread the book to actually have time to stop and reflect on what was happening. I think the reasons you mentioned helped bring to light some of the reasons why I felt like some parts of the book were problematic, but could not articulate why because the pacing was so fast. She did forgo opportunities to develop her characters more for the sake of plot. I flew through the last half of the book, just wanting to know what was going to happen. I felt like I didn't really have time sit with the story to think about how I felt about what was happening because of the pacing. It was frustrating to me how the characters dealt with the adoption case. I also wonder if it is hard to connect with the story because of the setting. From interviews with Celeste Ng, I learned that Shaker Heights was actually the town she grew up in. I almost feel like this book is her letter to Shaker Heights saying, "for being so well planned, you are a messed up town." It feels like she wants to prove something to the people of Shaker Heights, or try to get them to open their eyes to the experiences of people who do not fit into the town's well planned norms. To sum up, I had a positive reading experience with this book and would recommend it because of the engrossing story, but know that it has some heavy topics being addressed in ways that can be interpreted as one-dimensional.
Thanks for this incredibly thoughtful response! I totally agree that I felt torn between how readable and entertaining Ng's writing can be and how disappointed I was with how she handled the themes of the book and resolved the various threads of the plot. I think I just wish she had either focused on one of the many plots she was trying to juggle, or I wish she had written a longer book and given all those topics their due. But that's a really interesting take on her depiction of Shaker Heights - it's definitely a character unto itself in this novel!
I loved this review! And I definitely agree with you! But I just wonder, when you quote her similies around 2.30 - which page are you reading from? I am going to discuss this novel in class and would love to have that quote as one of my examples of her writing techniques! :-) Hugs from Sweden
I just finished reading this book and I agree with a lot of the points you make but I also think she wanted to confuse us and not steer us towards a specific person or family but actually make us wonder “whose side should I be on?” Cause I had no clue who was innocent after reading what everyone did. I couldn’t choose a character I liked the most and for me that was a first so I don’t know..
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Maybe I made too many assumptions about whose side Celeste Ng was on, but either way it's always great to hear other people's interpretations, so thanks for sharing yours! :)
I agree 1000% with every thing you said about this book. I am so confused how so many people sing its praises. I didn't care about the characters and had to make myself keep reading as I was bored out of my mind fir the first 200 pages.
Just finished the book yesterday. I really enjoyed it but I do agree with that point you made about Mia - SPOILER ALERT - Like she straight up ruined a portion of the Ryan couple's life by essentially stealing "their" baby and it was just glazed over. I still didn't want Mrs. Richardson to out her but I wanted her to face some kind of consequence or get knocked down from her pedestal a bit.
Yeah, that was one of my biggest issues with the Mia character...I would've liked to see her have to grapple with some of her cruel decisions instead of just being painted as a saint throughout the whole book.
I tend to agree with you discussing Mia vs Elena. I felt like they were both complex characters with flaws woven into them. If anything Mia was the crazier/more far fetched of the two. Although I liked both of them.
Totally agree with that assessment about pretty much everything you said BUT I have to admit, I still really enjoyed the book. I wasn't crazy about the straightforward, obviously-from-an-MFA-program prose, but the story really hooked me, especially in the 2nd half, where a lot of setups that I didn't realize were setups are all payed off, and the plot takes hold and really carries you along. The book read like a less thrilling (but not necessarily less watered down) Gillian Flynn story. Characters are a little one note, but I thought their actions defined, fleshed out, and eventually rounded their character in a fairly satisfying way. I also agree about the strange moralizing. I did think the biological-mother-trumps-all moralizing was a little more nuanced because I ended up coming down on different sides of different events, but I also wonder if that's just me taking sides; Ng ultimately plays it fairly light, or maybe she's just not didactic (which is nice), but you can also tell who's side she's on. I'd classify this as a great "library read"--don't buy it; maybe just check it out and see if it's your thing, which is what I did. As as side note, I read this because I have a kind of thing for Suburban Lit, because I grew up in the rural south and always thought living in a suburb was foreign and exotic, and it's a big guilty pleasure.
I haven't read it, but this was very interesting! I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this book, so it's good to hear a dissenting opinion. I don't really like overuse of similes- I find it irritating.
Thanks for watching! A lot of people are loving this book, so it might still be worth checking out - but if you're interested in Celeste Ng and haven't read any of her yet, I'd recommend Everything I Never Told You (which I think is miles better than Little Fires Everywhere). :)
Thank you for the honest review. I enjoyed the book; I agree with some of your points, disagree with others. I think it is important to digest both sides of the critique and it’s interesting to hear others opinions!
I know I'm 5 years late to the party but I just read it and I needed to hear someone else who didn't adore this book. I found her writing very corny and especially how she was trying to, or not even trying, she was telling us how great and smart Mia is. How are the kids admire her and how they didn't know yet just how savvy and clever she really is but they will soon come to find out there's more to Mia etc. Cringe. Plus the courtroom scene where the lawyer Lims biggest argument was that the baby would not be connected to her Chinese culture. And that seemed to change everyone's minds. But the Chinese mother of the baby left her malnourished in the winter, didn't change her diapers etc. It was obvious who we were supposed to root for
Another really good review! This book was never on my tbr and after your explanation (the adoption part and motherhood) I don't think it ever will. All of those things you mention that annoys you are also things that annoys me...
I think everything you said is fair. I've read the book twice, because I liked all the narratives intertwining with each other. BUT, yes, there's little to none character development, I think there was no unbiased character creation. I think Celest was "Hm, I hate the mother... she's... I just hate her". There was no balance in each character, but I think that if this was to be transformed in a TV series (which I think it is) they can easily tell the whole boo in four seasons, with a lot more character development, giving all characters more complexity. I think what captured everyone about this book is the straightforwardness in the story and that it's relatable to a degree for anybody.
Totally-and it is being adapted into a TV series (with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington!!)...I think they'll have more space to flesh out the characters in a series, so I'm eager to see what they do with the material :)
I didn't hate this book as much as you. I did find it underwhelming in the sense that the writing was sort of lukewarm for me. I didn't like Mia at all. The second i found out she "stole" Pearl, I stopped liking her. And I do understand what it feels like to be an artists when you're young (wanting to set the world on fire) and how stupid some of those choices seem later on in life; how cruel they actually were and how much regret they can generate. I thought pulling Pearl out of yet another school b/c Mia can't get her shit together and fights with everyone was cruel as well and not good mothering at all. I did like Mrs. Richardson (and I found that Reese Witherspoon actually didn't do that character justice). I will make an unlikely comparison to SWEETBITTER where I found myself liking Simone (one of the best villains I've ever seen in a novel which unfortunately wasn't used enough) way more than Tess (who is essentially kind of boring). Having said that I did feel sorry for Izzy being the child Mrs. Richardson never really wanted. It must've felt awful but four kids really is a lot.
I don’t understand why people loving it, I was so disappointed with this book. It feels like the story has a lot of opportunity, but it fell flat in the end. Some of the storyline was boring and was unnecessary to include. It was so stupid when Mia told Peal the trust of her birth, they just cried and then Mia was like let go see them. Like what was the point of hiding the trust in the first place if there is no consequence when the trust come out, ain’t they gonna take Peal away? Writer was clearly favored in Mai and Babe side. And how did Babe break into a freaking rich house so easy, what kind of rich neighborhood and rich house is that? Don’t they lock the door? Babe is just a waiter, how and when did she learn to break in? Meanwhile, Izzy can’t even get into her rented house that she had to go find a spare key. How did Babe leave the country with a baby without any authority notice? Don’t they need a passport to leave? And if she can just break in like that and can’t be caught what was the point of fighting in the courts? And what kind of fantasy is it to think Izzy will be safe, she is a 15 years old, walking alone. She either get pick by police or kidnap and rape. The message of this book is as a mother u can break law, rule and contract and you won’t suffer any consequences because you love your child.
i totally agreeeed on everything u commented on this book, i found those characters as flat as their names i just don’t wanna finished reading the rest half
I did not find that Celeste demonized Mrs. Richardson, I think that Mrs. Richardson's actions speak volumes about her character, which to me is clearly self-righteous and arrogant. As long as things go the way she wants, she's this perfect mother and wife living a perfect life. Mia is not perfect and Celeste makes that very clear, as she dedicates plenty of pages on discussing her past and why she lives the way she does. Mia was simply living her life, humble and all.
I agree with all of this. I was let down by how heavy-handed the book’s messages were, and the fact that Ng is clearly portraying Mia as the protagonist when she is in fact an extremely problematic, and dare I say, selfish character. Being an artist myself, I hate how artists are stereotypically portrayed in media as being poor, reclusive, misunderstood and/or nomadic. Having learned more about Ng and her opinions on the Bad Art Friend situation was enlightening too. She seems biased against white people (I’m saying this as someone who’s not white). Siding with her Asian friend who plagiarized a woman’s kidney donation story and then bringing race into her argument. I’m not making wild accusations; look it up. Once you realize her stance, it’s very obvious in this book. I just really dislike when authors bring up big ideas and moral questions, create nuanced characters from different walks of life, and then tell me how to think about it all. I found Elena to be a more three dimensional character than Mia in the end.
What an excellent and articulate review! I agree with all your criticisms. Seriously, how is this novel SO popular? I found nothing in this book to be particularly compelling or insightful. Her writing is certainly clear, but it's plain, stale, and-worst of all-forgettable. It irks me that this book is marketed as "literary" fiction; like, talk about a real slap in the face to true poets and wordsmiths!! And the slanted, sanctimonious treatment of the characters was exasperating. Sorry Celeste, but Mia is not a good person, no matter how hard you try to romanticize her as some defiant, arty angel. I, for one, found myself agreeing with Elena more often than not, flawed as she may also be. A very disappointing and wrongheaded novel indeed.
(This comment does contain spoilers) Okay, so I really need to rant about one thing you said, and I'm aware that your review is two years old so your feelings might have changed. But it really annoys me when people say things like "for all intents and purposes adopted" when that's not the case. That only applies when an adoption is finalized - before that, it's in the process of adoption. Which doesn't (have) to say anything about the love of any people involved, it's just that it's really not correct to refer to people as adoptive parents when they haven't actually adopted the child one is referring to. Okay, rant over. I think Celeste Ng didn't say that biological motherhood is the most "real" kind of motherhood. Just that it can affect of the mother in question to make drastic choices. Personally, I do think that Linda was less of a mother than Bebe, because she never paid even a single earnest thought as to how to incorporate May Ling's culture and heritage into her life. Not to mention the absolute disregard and disrespect she had for Bebe. If May Ling had grown up with the McCulloughs, she would for sure have been told horrible things about her mother and would likely have come to loathe herself. In a way, she would have become Izzy, I suppose. Hopefully with as good a moral compass as Izzy, but judging by the other Richardson kids, it's not easy to be raised by such selfish, self-entitled egomaniacs and come out a good person. But overall, I think Ng tried to be empathetic to all of her characters, which might be why she didn't outright condemn anyone of them.
Thank u so much for speaking my mind....for being the only sane reviewer of this shitty book...I regret why I ordered it in first place...super unlikeable and horrible book...I mean how can anyone not see how selfish Mia was towards her parents and the couple for whom she was surrogating...How did she come out of this so easily.How come you not see that Bebe made a huge mistake giving up her child and if a family adopted that child(that what she wanted..yeah?) She became against them and wanted to take her baby back and why it was portrayed that the baby should only belongs to biological parents? smh...very bad author I must say...She doesnt need to imply that to the readers.Sje doesnt force the readers to like a certain charevter because SHE thinks shes likeable...She portarayed Mrs Richardson an evil person and Mia a sweet person...what I felt about them was the opposite... Yeah I didnt surely liked Mrs Richardson alot or found her sweet but I couldn't help hating Mia for her selfishness towards that Ryan couple and her old and miserable lonely parents whom she left behind..Atleast Mrs Richardson was not like her in any way...last but not least..how can you spare Pearl for that cheating thing she did on Moody..At the end of ghe book it was implied that Moody should be sorry for her arrogance towards Pearl but in real Pearl should have been ashamed of her act which she wasn't.. Such a shitty book...recomment to no one..Dont get the hype really why people like it so much..Shame!!!
Hi, I write this 3 years later but well, I agree about the fact that Moody shouldn't be the only one to say sorry. But it’s more like a feeling that I have about it than having a real argument to say that Pearl should be ashamed of herself, if you could explain what you were thinking about her “cheating thing” she did on Moody. And finally I wanted to add that it annoyed me when Izzy said that he “betrayed her intentionally” when he actually just told the truth ,which would have been the same if he didn’t, because it wasn’t changing anything for Mrs Richardson who was only thinking that Pearl “had a bad influence or smt on her boys”. So, in any case Mrs Richardson would have put Mia and Pearl out.
Yes! So glad to see this review; I had similar thoughts. There was no subtlety to this book. I was expecting it to get more nuanced, but nope, we got a caricature of a confrontation between Bad, Conventional Elena and Wise, Free-Spirited Mia. And Ng introduced a lot of moments by giving them a weird sense of gravitas but then never explored them (Pearl and Trip, Mr. Richardson's conflicting feelings about the hearing-which really just ended up feeling like an afterthought to try and flesh out his character). The whole adoption subplot felt like nothing more a vehicle for her to explore some of the broader questions about racial identity (something I found really compelling in Everything I Never Told You but not so much here, especially with the weird subtext you pointed out regarding motherhood) and a convenient way to pit Elena against Mia instead of a well-executed and well-integrated element of the story.
Yes!! I totally agree with all of this - so frustrating on many levels! I also found Everything I Never Told You a lot more compelling, which is part of why I was especially disappointed by this book. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
Thank you for your review I really needed it after reading the book! It flet so universally praised that i for sure thought it would be a five star read, but i had similar problems as you with the story. Both the weird desription about biological motherhood trumps everything and how it feels she is pushing her narrative down your throught. Also i think her writing is way too much telling instead of showing.
I disagree with the criticism that the biological motherhood was somehow shown to be superior. Just look at how the relationship between Mia & Izzy was portrayed and concluded. I do agree with the canonization of Mia, It was quite over the top. I actually listened to the book while driving and the simple visual language did help, making it an enjoyable experience.
God thank you for the moral high ground bit. I felt like this book was trying to lead me by the neck to these conclusions about class and race and rebellion that I personally think were both presented and defended really poorly. And also seemed to fetishize poverty in a way I found really gross.
This book made me angry. It’s one of the only books I’ve ever read which tries to get the reader to side with a character who is straight up a horrible person
Subscribed. Thank you for a great review. Your incisive analysis is refreshing. I agree her writing is simple and direct. The strength of her writing lends to a more pulp fiction style not literary. The similes are tired and you feel exhausted trying to force it through.
I didn't enjoy her first book. I found it to be a cookie-cutter, MFA-born pot boiler. It wasn't very good. I picked this up because of all the buzz around it and wondered if she had grown with her second novel. Instead this book made me angry. It's just plain rubbish. Ugh. I think you've been way fairer towards the book than I can be. I'm more of an impressionistic reader and I found this to be wholly awful.
SPOILER ALERT I did not think the novel made you think that the biological mother was more entitled to the child. Actually, to me, it looked like both sides were right, and I saw the reasons behind both the couple and the Chinese woman. I could not pick a side. To me, the book finishes with the biological mother taking the child and going back to China in a way to sort of get a revenge to that upper class family, once the poor Chinese woman would not be able to win that fight against a US-born and rich family. And I thought the fact you rooted for Mrs Richardson (I did too) was intentional from Ng. She is a humane and complex character. The last paragraphs in the book prove so. The thing to me that made me like the book a little less were some of its coincidences. The fact Mia would meet a woman (Bebe) who had gone through the same moral stalemate she did was a little hard for me to swallow. Also, when Lexie put Pearl's name in the clinic, I was rolling my eyes like "ok, Pearl will have consequences later", etc. But I devoured this in a day, so, I guess it was an addictive read and that it would be good on TV.
Thanks for this really thoughtful response! It's always nice to hear from someone who liked the book in the comments of a mostly negative review. I think with regards to the adoption story, I was just frustrated because I feel like that's such a complex situation and a storyline that deserved to be much more fleshed out and deeply explored than it was. I don't think Celeste Ng, in a novel that was relatively short and concerned with so many story threads, gave this one the attention and nuance and space that it deserved (I think Bebe in particular deserved more fleshing out). I did, however, feel that there were some undercurrents of Bebe being portrayed as a superior mother because of the biological link (for example, the baby doesn't make a peep when her real mother picks her up out of the crib to take her away), but what bothered me most was that the adoptive parents adopt another baby shortly after (a seeming replacement baby) and then, I guess, just decide to forget about May Ling/Mirabelle? That just rubbed me the wrong way and struck me as weird...again, more fleshing out and nuance maybe would have made that grate less for me. And I guess I disagree about the Mrs. Richardson point, in that I wasn't rooting for her as a person (she was mostly awful), I was rooting for her in hopes that Celeste Ng would give her better character development and somehow turn her into a less one-dimensional character. I think that Celeste Ng keeps her at arm's length throughout the book (note that she is almost always referred to as Mrs. Richardson instead of Elena, which I think creates an initial sort of distance between her and the reader), and by the end of the book she was completely villainized and made into a caricature in a way I didn't appreciate. I don't think the last page humanized her at all, it felt like kind of a last-ditch, unearned effort on Ng's part to make her feel human. But that was just my reading of it. And yet, despite all that, I agree with you that it was very readable! I almost hope Reese Witherspoon or someone decides to make it into a miniseries (a la Big Little Lies), because I think having the space of 8 or so episodes might give this story the depth and nuance that Celeste Ng couldn't cram into 330 pages.
Good review, very articulate. I've just finished reading and liked it, especially for its readability and that it's easy to visualise but I agree with pretty much everything you said. Just one point though: you do realise that the characters are not real, so it's not possible to treat them fairly or unfairly!
I didn't have an issue with that at all - I just wish all of the themes in this book had been more fleshed out. I actually really liked 'Everything I Never Told You' because it was more contained and gave her room to explore her themes in greater depth.
I really liked your review! It seemed like at least two books to me. She just tried to do too much in too small of a space. I also didn’t like her portrayal of women with infertility in the context of her discussion of motherhood. And you described my feeling about her portrayal of families who adopt so well. From her interviews, I don’t think she meant to do that. But at the same time, that’s def a reading you could take from it, and that I felt in particular.
Thanks so much, Kendra! And yeah, I totally agree - I think this book really suffered from how short it was (short, at least, given the number of storylines and topics she was trying to tackle). And I also don't think she meant for those issues of biological motherhood/infertility/adoption to come off so weird, and I think if she had devoted more pages to those topics, they would have been more nuanced and less bizarre. At least that's my assumption because based on interviews (like you said) and her Twitter presence, she seems like a really cool and thoughtful person. The book just seemed a little too rushed to talk about those issues in a meaningful way.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and will bear them in mind. I haven't read this one, not even sure it's available in Australia where I am, but I found a copy of her first novel here second hand and loved it. The two novels sound different as EINTY focused on one family of mixed-race Asian-Caucasian background and the steps the led to one of the family killing herself; LFE has a huge list of characters I hear. Do have a listen to the launch of LFE to get a bit more perspective though, she definitely at least have someone to consult about the adoption issue. ruclips.net/video/1qgsXs7CTx0/видео.html Also, while I haven't read LFE yet I do feel that even though people of non-traditional family makeups do admirably under the circumstances not everyone agrees that it is ideal, and that traditional families are still desirable as the ideal for best upbringing. Disagree if one wants, but it's important to respect those differences of view.
Personally, I liked the artist characters, the way the orderly usualky wealthy way of living is compared to the photographer's drifting life. When the adoption was introduced around the 140 page the plot stopped interesting me. But the abortion plot felt completely realistic to me, even if its not too original. And I liked the ending, the Richardson woman looking for her lost daughter. That humanised her, and even if she is flawed, I liked her more than the photographer mother.
I saw that!! Honestly, I'm pretty excited about it because I think a limited series format might allow them to flesh out some of the storylines that I felt got short shrift in the book-and Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are 🔥🔥🔥 so fingers crossed it's great!
Perfectly stated in your review: “Apparently, if you’re a rebel, and you flout convention, you can do really shitty fucking things but still have the moral high ground over everyone else who lives in a suburb.”
You are so spot on!! I came to the book with great expectations. I began reading and within a few chapters, became puzzled with all the hoopla. Yes, it is a page-turner based on compelling plots, but poorly written. Language has no flair, no creativity, just straight-forward exposition. A basic creative writing class would encourage students to "show me; don't TELL me." Ng just tells us and tells us again (and again) the points she wants us to "get"-- like Mrs. Richardson's planned life, Izzy's unhappy rebelliousness. I was worried about how to explain my disappointment to my book club, but you have clarified my thinking. Thank you.
Read it, not crazy about it. I'm glad you're speaking the truth.
spot-on, I felt the exact same thing about her trying to put her characters into these fixed boxes and decided which ones are the bad ones or the good ones. Also, her portraying of Maya as this perfect figure having higher morals giving her the right to leave behind sketches judging every single one of that family was disgusting to me. The fact that Izzy just burned the house and left her family and how was that portrayed as ok was mind boggling to me, and so many other details that will need pages for me to finish!
I know this is an old video but I just reread LFE and I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear you speak the the truth about the important issues addressed in the book. (PS. Don't even get me started on the TV adaptation)
Awesome review! Even though I loved this book so much I can definitely see the points you're making, some that I never even considered! I really like the way you talked about the book in depth, and I like seeing booktubers with unpopular opinions because this book is praised everywhere! I subscribed! :)
Thanks so much, Gabby! It's always nice to hear a different opinion about a book (especially in response to a negative review) - have you read Celeste Ng's other novel, Everything I Never Told You? I really enjoyed that one, and I bet you would really like it if you enjoyed Little Fires :)
You're welcome! Yes I always love hearing different opinions! Because people who have the opposite opinion always think of something you probably didn't so it's always interesting! And no I haven't yet, but I'm hoping to read it soon! :)
Love your review! I read this one a while ago and thought it was overhyped but wasn't able to fully grasp the actual details that bothered me in the book. You captured them (plus some) very well here. It's not the worst book but given all the hype around it I appreciate a review like this that is grounding and critical.
Love this review! Just finished it and agree 100% I couldn’t stand Mia, and I felt her flaws were nowhere near as highlighted as Mrs Richardson’s!
I'm so behind on my booktube watch-list! I'm so glad I finally got around to watching this review. Bless you for using actual examples from the text to demonstrate your discussions. That is something I need to work on in my reviews! Again, you amaze me with your thoughtfulness and detail. I never really planned on reading this novel, so thank you for gleaning some thoughts for me. I can discuss it with customers at my store now :)
Thank you for watching! I appreciate it, especially because I know not everyone likes to watch reviews, and I'm glad if it was in any way helpful for you - I was going to ask how many new releases you have to/try to read for your job (I imagine it's hard to keep up with all of them and that you sometimes would have to rely on reviews and general buzz to help give recommendations...but I wasn't sure how you approach it!).
I just finished reading this book and could not agree more with your review. Plot was quickly pulled in so many directions that I never had any closure on any of the BIG issues discussed. I do agree that her writing is very readable but unfortunately this one fell flat for me too. I am interested in reading her first novel, Everything I Never Told You, as it has great reviews. But is it a case of fool me once?
I'm so glad this was helpful! I really liked Everything I Never Told You when I read it, but it definitely had some of the elements of this book that weren't my favorite (notably, the annoying overuse of similes, characters that verged on one-dimensional/stereotypical, and plot arcs that were a little cliched). But I think Everything I Never Told You is a much stronger book because the focus is so much tighter-she's really zeroed in on this one nuclear family, and the book is about race and identity, but it's also more broadly about parents wanting their kids to be something they're not, and for me there were some really heartbreaking scenes that made me tear up a bit. It's also shorter and more compact in general, so I don't know...I don't want to say definitely go read it in case you hate it, but I also think it's worth a shot. :)
I've read EINTY and enjoyed it. It focuses on one family of mixed Asian-Caucasian race and set in the 60s to 80s. Haven't read LFE but do at least have a listen to her at the book launch at Politics and Prose bookstore ruclips.net/video/1qgsXs7CTx0/видео.html
I can FINALLY watch this now that I’ve read it! I agree so much with your points, from the one-dimensional use of exposition and the whole simile/metaphor dynamic used too repetitively.
My main gripe is that Ng seems to be writing for such a general reader in an accessible way (which is great!) but the whole nature of the politics was so simplified, I was so disappointed. However, I do love the thematic ideas going on, especially Mia’s thoughts on motherhood considering her own denouncement of her parents and how that might be why she gives Pearl so much liberty to do things (which sadly for Pearl, only seems to revolve around Trip of ALL PEOPLE who is so boring and predictable.)
Anyways, I had a lot of thoughts too haha but I guess that is so telling of, how you say, Ng is so readable!
Yay!! I watched your wrap up yesterday while doing some housework (and then I forgot to go back and comment later when my hands were free!), but I loved your thoughts on it! I totally agree that one of my biggest issues was the oversimplification of the BIG issues she raised in the book...I just don't think she had enough space to flesh out those ideas or storylines or characters in a ~300 page book. And YES Trip!! So boring (also such an eye-rolling-ly not realistic storyline...like I'm sorry but the hot high school jock doesn't ever fall for the mousy girl IRL). But Celeste Ng is super readable, even if I didn't love this book :)
One thing I found super weird was how chill the Richardson family reacted to their house being burnt down - really?? I don't know anybody who'd look at all one's possessions being lost in a fire and just going "oh well, sister/daughter finally did it".
Also thought that Linda might get a petition going with all her mummy friends confirming what a fit mother she is. Really didn't like the part "just got a new Chinese baby that nobody would come looking for".
What I did like was the juxtaposition of feeling at home with birth parents and / or other motherly figures, especially Mia and Lexie.
On the whole I did enjoy it, though it really had a "Desperate Housewives" feel to it.
You explained the problematic points of this book so effortlessly I really admire that about you! I only picked this book up yesterday even though it was published like 3 years ago, and I thought it would be this amazing thing just like everyone was praising and it wasn't! So I'm very glad to hear your disagreements of it !
Here’s what I said on Goodreads:
I gave it a 3.5 to 4. It’s clearly written, has vivid characters, and it’s a real page turner. It’s part detective story, part YA-coming of age novel, part social commentary. I wished there was more introspection, more inner dialogue and less plot machinations which sometimes felt contrived. But this kind of writing lends itself readily to a screen adaptation.
I would add that the writing has a highly competent, efficient, mechanical quality to it. Well constructed, well planned (like Shaker heights), but I prefer a more lyrical and/or deeper exposition which separates a good story from art in my opinion.
Wow, I agree with everything you said here! And I agree that it really would make for a great screen adaptation (especially something like a miniseries). Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
You are so right on. Thank you for expressing my thoughts.
Im like #100. I agree. Her writing isnt lyrical and somewhat boring.
What did you think of the TV show?
So, what I didn't get is how or when the mother had her portrait and that of her baby taken by her mentor. She had already come back home pregnant, and then she kinda disappears with her baby. In that museum photo she is described as a spider. I thought it wasn't explained at all. Or maybe I didn't get it among all the melodrama with the chinese baby.
as always, i loved watching your review! i feel like you raise really good points.
Thank you so much for watching! Your comments really mean a lot :)
Yes, you are right. It seemed cliched to me. I saw it as a wanderer/settler thinking as well. White picket fence lit?
I also felt like she would have had more success talking about racial identity had Mirabelle's case been one that would have gone differently had she been white, I remember there is a part in which someone says "we wouldn't be having this discussion had Mirabelle been white and blonde", which I thought was one of the most ridiculous things Celeste Ng could have written there, because I don't know if she's implying white people don't abandon their kids or that white kids don't get adopted by different race parents as well, and it was also odd in the sense that Bebe's whole case was that she would be a better mom because she was Chinese, which ??????, if any jury passed that they would have to second guess every single adoption in the country, it's crazy. And also Mia was absolutely one of the most annoying and just inconsistent characters ever, when she was pregnant with Pearl people kept saying "how are you gonna sell your baby?" When pearl ISN'T her baby at all, not even a little bit. I feel like it would have made more sense had she been on the McCuloughs side of "love makes a family and not blood" but instead she was acting like she was entitled of Pearl, which just made me hate her character a lot, since it seems like the McCuloughs were in the same situation she was, of the biological parents having more rights over the kid she thinks it's her baby. I honestly wanted to strangle Mia throughout the whole book, she was SOOO annoying, and so were Pearl and the Robertson children.
"I just need Celeste Ng to not be telling me who I should be rooting for and who I shouldn't be rooting for." Couldn't agree more! Interesting topics, but not much room for the reader to form their own opinions. I also thought that the abortion conversation with Mia was weak, given that 1) Like you said, Mia's word on the issue shouldn't be any more "sacred" than anyone else's, and 2) it felt to me like the author's way of trying to appease critics on both sides of the issue and then to move on without any more questions asked, but for me this was more profoundly unsatisfying than taking either side would have been. Nice review!
I need to read Everything I Never Told You first before I dive into Little Fires Everywhere. I think you explained your thoughts really well - I will just have to see what I particularly think! I've seen lots of 5 stars so when I saw your 2 stars on Goodreads I was intrigued about your thoughts
Yeah, I filmed a whole bit about how much I liked Everything I Never Told You and how excited I was about Little Fires Everywhere because of it (had to cut for time, haha) - so I would still really recommend that book a lot. There were still some weird similes that struck me as clunky, and I found the mother to be a little bit of a caricature, but I just found it much tighter and more focused than Little Fires (probably because it was really zeroed in on one family). And I also found it very moving and cried a couple times, too (which doesn't happen to me very often!). And I recommended it to a couple people who both liked it a lot when they read it, too. So I think I still might check out her next book depending on what it's about - and she's a great Twitter follow either way :)
THANK YOU FOR THIS REVIEW. I know I’m super late to this video but I recently finished this book and hated it for all the reasons you mentioned. I was deeply disturbed and angered by this book’s implicit messages about biological motherhood and I’m so glad you could articulate yourself so well and get this across. It made feel a lot better about not liking this book, so thank you
Thank you so much for speaking up because I read so many great things about Celeste Ng and I read her last book before this one, "All the Things I Never Told You" and it bored me to pieces. From how you descried it, this one sounds about as good as the last one and there for I'm not interested. This is why I like spoiler reviews, because people don't just dance around what's going on between the pages. You have definitely talked my out of reading this book and wasting more of my time on her. Thank you Claire.
I actually liked Everything I Never Told You, but if you weren't a fan, then I doubt you would like Little Fires (best to stay away, probably! haha)
I recently read this book, in anticipation of the tv series and though overall I enjoyed the book (minus the terrible ending) I can’t disagree with any of the points you made. The overuse of similes in particular is one point I 100% agree with.
I also found it irritating that we spent so much time delving into flashbacks and the past and not enough time exploring the characters in the present. In particular I felt there was so much potential for the relationship between Trip and Pearl (and Trip’s character overall) yet that seemed glazed over and I hated that we were, in a sense, told rather than shown a lot of their important conversations.
I found myself saying “yes completely” to so many points you made throughout your review! Although, admittedly, I did read this book fairly quickly, I also found myself skipping over passages because of writing that seemed to go on. And on. And on. You hit the nail on the head referring to her use of similes. I also felt confused on what the main theme or concept I was supposed to take away...perhaps there wasn’t just one but all unclear feeling remains regardless.
Thanks for sharing your review!
Thanks so much, Mary! Yeah, I thought this book was just kind of all over the place in terms of plot, characters, and tone - so I felt similarly confused about how I was supposed to be feeling about the characters and what was happening to them!
I wondered if it was just me. This book is getting such praise and I was unimpressed - for many of the same reasons you give. Thank you for posting this.
Haven't read, but excellent video! I like all the thought you put into this. Yes, authors must avoid "speed bumps" that jolt the reader out of the story -- one of my pet peeves. Similes are difficult because they only work when the reader goes "Yes, exactly!" Which is rare. They can't be used just as a device. Also the author has to make their point of view persuasive to all readers: Charlotte Bronte has to convince us that Jane Eyre is doing the right thing, & that Rochester deserves forgiveness. Finally, it may be just your take, but it sounds like Ng has some rather illogical views on family, which can be easily discounted based on observation -- but not having read it I'll go no further. Great analysis!
Thanks so much! These are all really good points - and in general I really like Celeste Ng (I follow her on Twitter, where she's pretty active and outspoken), and I agree with a lot of her politics and thoughts about the world, but I also believe she is the mother of a young-ish child, so a lot of this book was about motherhood and some of the ideas in the book just rubbed me the wrong way - but it also might just be a symptom of her not fully exploring or fleshing out those topics, too.
I'm responding several years after this post because I have only recently discovered you, and I'm listening to your reviews of books I've read. You are spot on with this review! I actually would have been much harsher. I find Celeste Ng's writing to be so boring. For such short novels, they feel so long to me. I read her first novel and this one because I thought I was missing something. But I'm reading the comments that share my same feelings. Also, I find your reviews to be so wonderful!
I haven’t read the book, and now when I come to think of it - I probably won’t. I watch a tv series version though, and it left me confused. I liked many of the themes it covered and I saw potential there, but the execution just didn’t live up to my expectations. It was one of those things I really wanted to like and was surprised I didn’t.
you're so great at book reviews.
I'm 15% through this book and was really liking it. I noticed the similes also, and each time I'm hit with one, I pause and think 'what does that mean'. This is about the best book review I have ever seen!
I dont know how you did it, but you described my every thought about this book. Perfectly articulated. I am now a big fan! LOL And a new subscriber. You are great.
Thanks so much for watching, Tia! I so appreciate when people share their thoughts, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who was underwhelmed by this book, haha xx
I completely agree with your review! You’ve articulated my boughs perfectly. Especially about the ideas on motherhood and being forced to like one character over the other. Great review!
Thanks so much, Jeena!
My one criticism is that I don't think its possible for a VW Rabbit to last as long as Mia's. Just a thought. You know she was putting miles on the thing.
*spoiler ALERT*
I disagree on the abortion subject. I think what she portrayed was one girl's view on how she felt after. Doesnt mean it represents everyone. I dont know about you but once Lexie had the abortion I felt sadness and knew that she wouldn't be able to see Brian the same. Also I dont think Mia was held with great regards...she just had a dark past. I believe that Mrs.Richardson believing that living this perfect life she had everything under control and instead of dedicating true time to her children she neglected them emotionally. Whe she thought Izzy had Moody"s baby aborted,
her approach was ridiculous and I can see mothers being that way. However what Mia did was detestable in every way. I didn't see a heroine in this book at all. As I read I saw lots of troubled people
Izzy was truly mentally ill, and her mother never did anything to help her, thus brings the subject of mental illness. Being a mother is complex and the way Celeste views it is her way of believing it, doesnt mean she believes everyone should. It's her point of view. I think the baby should have never been given back to the biological mom...if anything I think I hated BEBE the most. She def neglected that child from the start.
But that this book reads just like a movie you've read me exactly! I felt the same way.
God you summed it up perfectly. I just hated Ngs assertion that a child will always do better with their biological mother, even if that means the child grows up in complete poverty (like bebe’s daughter) or has to grow up constantly moving with no chance to make any lasting friendships (like Pearls case). Ng takes incredibly complex topics like class, racism, interracial adoption, conformity and reduces it to two clear cut “sides where one is good and one is bad.
It's so interesting to hear a dissenting opinion for a book that everyone has been raving about! I guess I'll just have to read it for myself and figure out what I think!
I would love to hear your thoughts on it whenever you read it! I am obviously in the minority on this one, so it's been nice to hear everyone's reaction to it. :)
I couldn't agree more. Loved your review 🖒🖒
I just bought this book at Barnes and Noble sale, so it’s on my TBR. I’m going to move it up the line and read it as soon as I can. My husband and I adopted our daughter (42 years ago) and I always cringe when that “biological is better” attitude comes along. Thanks for the review. I’ll let you know what I think as soon as I read it. Must first finish the one I’m now reading-The Lost Queen by Signe Pike. It’s great!
Thank you so much for this review! I'm almost finished LFE now and you articulated a lot of the things I found problematic about the book but wasn't able to put into words myself. You've gained a new subscriber!
Thanks so much for watching, Laura! :D
Totally agree with you in everything. In particular with the construction of Elena as a villian and Mia as a saint. It is just annoying.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
I’m writing a paper over the topic of Mia essentially kidnapping pearl but I’m not sure if Pearl is biologically Mia’s daughter or if Pearl was fully conceived by the Ryan’s and Mia was just carrying pearl for them??
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They really helped me articulate my feelings about the book, as I have mixed feelings about this book as well. Part of me loves this book because I enjoy the way she writes and both of her books have interesting premises and I think she creates characters with distinct personalities (despite them being one-dimensional, as you mentioned). But I, too, think that her writing can be a bit stuffy at times. She loves making long sentences with that long dash! But, it's that descriptive writing that makes the story so easy to visualize. I also liked that she chose to write in 3rd person omniscient. Getting inside the heads of multiple characters really made me invested in what was happening and I felt like I got to know so many characters.
After I finished this book, I remember thinking, "I can't tell if I should like this book, but I do." I finished it in one day, so it has to be good, right? Yet I felt like I needed to immediately reread the book to actually have time to stop and reflect on what was happening.
I think the reasons you mentioned helped bring to light some of the reasons why I felt like some parts of the book were problematic, but could not articulate why because the pacing was so fast. She did forgo opportunities to develop her characters more for the sake of plot. I flew through the last half of the book, just wanting to know what was going to happen. I felt like I didn't really have time sit with the story to think about how I felt about what was happening because of the pacing. It was frustrating to me how the characters dealt with the adoption case. I also wonder if it is hard to connect with the story because of the setting. From interviews with Celeste Ng, I learned that Shaker Heights was actually the town she grew up in. I almost feel like this book is her letter to Shaker Heights saying, "for being so well planned, you are a messed up town." It feels like she wants to prove something to the people of Shaker Heights, or try to get them to open their eyes to the experiences of people who do not fit into the town's well planned norms.
To sum up, I had a positive reading experience with this book and would recommend it because of the engrossing story, but know that it has some heavy topics being addressed in ways that can be interpreted as one-dimensional.
Thanks for this incredibly thoughtful response! I totally agree that I felt torn between how readable and entertaining Ng's writing can be and how disappointed I was with how she handled the themes of the book and resolved the various threads of the plot. I think I just wish she had either focused on one of the many plots she was trying to juggle, or I wish she had written a longer book and given all those topics their due.
But that's a really interesting take on her depiction of Shaker Heights - it's definitely a character unto itself in this novel!
I agree with lots of your points... I do however, think you might not be missing lots of points the book is actually making around race....
I loved this review! And I definitely agree with you! But I just wonder, when you quote her similies around 2.30 - which page are you reading from? I am going to discuss this novel in class and would love to have that quote as one of my examples of her writing techniques! :-) Hugs from Sweden
I just finished reading this book and I agree with a lot of the points you make but I also think she wanted to confuse us and not steer us towards a specific person or family but actually make us wonder “whose side should I be on?” Cause I had no clue who was innocent after reading what everyone did. I couldn’t choose a character I liked the most and for me that was a first so I don’t know..
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Maybe I made too many assumptions about whose side Celeste Ng was on, but either way it's always great to hear other people's interpretations, so thanks for sharing yours! :)
I agree 1000% with every thing you said about this book. I am so confused how so many people sing its praises. I didn't care about the characters and had to make myself keep reading as I was bored out of my mind fir the first 200 pages.
Just finished the book yesterday. I really enjoyed it but I do agree with that point you made about Mia
- SPOILER ALERT -
Like she straight up ruined a portion of the Ryan couple's life by essentially stealing "their" baby and it was just glazed over. I still didn't want Mrs. Richardson to out her but I wanted her to face some kind of consequence or get knocked down from her pedestal a bit.
Yeah, that was one of my biggest issues with the Mia character...I would've liked to see her have to grapple with some of her cruel decisions instead of just being painted as a saint throughout the whole book.
I tend to agree with you discussing Mia vs Elena. I felt like they were both complex characters with flaws woven into them. If anything Mia was the crazier/more far fetched of the two. Although I liked both of them.
Totally agree with that assessment about pretty much everything you said BUT I have to admit, I still really enjoyed the book. I wasn't crazy about the straightforward, obviously-from-an-MFA-program prose, but the story really hooked me, especially in the 2nd half, where a lot of setups that I didn't realize were setups are all payed off, and the plot takes hold and really carries you along. The book read like a less thrilling (but not necessarily less watered down) Gillian Flynn story. Characters are a little one note, but I thought their actions defined, fleshed out, and eventually rounded their character in a fairly satisfying way. I also agree about the strange moralizing. I did think the biological-mother-trumps-all moralizing was a little more nuanced because I ended up coming down on different sides of different events, but I also wonder if that's just me taking sides; Ng ultimately plays it fairly light, or maybe she's just not didactic (which is nice), but you can also tell who's side she's on. I'd classify this as a great "library read"--don't buy it; maybe just check it out and see if it's your thing, which is what I did. As as side note, I read this because I have a kind of thing for Suburban Lit, because I grew up in the rural south and always thought living in a suburb was foreign and exotic, and it's a big guilty pleasure.
I haven't read it, but this was very interesting! I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this book, so it's good to hear a dissenting opinion. I don't really like overuse of similes- I find it irritating.
Thanks for watching! A lot of people are loving this book, so it might still be worth checking out - but if you're interested in Celeste Ng and haven't read any of her yet, I'd recommend Everything I Never Told You (which I think is miles better than Little Fires Everywhere). :)
Claire Reads Books Thanks for the recommendation! I've heard really good things about that one.
Hey, you should see the show and how they interpreted the book.
your criticisms are very legitimate
Thank you for the honest review. I enjoyed the book; I agree with some of your points, disagree with others. I think it is important to digest both sides of the critique and it’s interesting to hear others opinions!
Thanks, Josh! It's been great to hear from people with all kinds of opinions about this book :)
I know I'm 5 years late to the party but I just read it and I needed to hear someone else who didn't adore this book. I found her writing very corny and especially how she was trying to, or not even trying, she was telling us how great and smart Mia is. How are the kids admire her and how they didn't know yet just how savvy and clever she really is but they will soon come to find out there's more to Mia etc. Cringe.
Plus the courtroom scene where the lawyer Lims biggest argument was that the baby would not be connected to her Chinese culture. And that seemed to change everyone's minds.
But the Chinese mother of the baby left her malnourished in the winter, didn't change her diapers etc.
It was obvious who we were supposed to root for
I didn't finish it. For me the characters on both sides saw things in black and white when there were many shades of grey. It was really irritating.
Your opinion is Legit and appreciated. Thank you!
Another really good review! This book was never on my tbr and after your explanation (the adoption part and motherhood) I don't think it ever will. All of those things you mention that annoys you are also things that annoys me...
Thanks so much! And yeah, if it wasn't already on your TBR I wouldn't recommend adding it, haha (in case you couldn't tell 😉 )
I think everything you said is fair. I've read the book twice, because I liked all the narratives intertwining with each other. BUT, yes, there's little to none character development, I think there was no unbiased character creation. I think Celest was "Hm, I hate the mother... she's... I just hate her". There was no balance in each character, but I think that if this was to be transformed in a TV series (which I think it is) they can easily tell the whole boo in four seasons, with a lot more character development, giving all characters more complexity. I think what captured everyone about this book is the straightforwardness in the story and that it's relatable to a degree for anybody.
Totally-and it is being adapted into a TV series (with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington!!)...I think they'll have more space to flesh out the characters in a series, so I'm eager to see what they do with the material :)
I didn't hate this book as much as you. I did find it underwhelming in the sense that the writing was sort of lukewarm for me. I didn't like Mia at all. The second i found out she "stole" Pearl, I stopped liking her. And I do understand what it feels like to be an artists when you're young (wanting to set the world on fire) and how stupid some of those choices seem later on in life; how cruel they actually were and how much regret they can generate. I thought pulling Pearl out of yet another school b/c Mia can't get her shit together and fights with everyone was cruel as well and not good mothering at all. I did like Mrs. Richardson (and I found that Reese Witherspoon actually didn't do that character justice). I will make an unlikely comparison to SWEETBITTER where I found myself liking Simone (one of the best villains I've ever seen in a novel which unfortunately wasn't used enough) way more than Tess (who is essentially kind of boring). Having said that I did feel sorry for Izzy being the child Mrs. Richardson never really wanted. It must've felt awful but four kids really is a lot.
I don’t understand why people loving it, I was so disappointed with this book. It feels like the story has a lot of opportunity, but it fell flat in the end. Some of the storyline was boring and was unnecessary to include.
It was so stupid when Mia told Peal the trust of her birth, they just cried and then Mia was like let go see them. Like what was the point of hiding the trust in the first place if there is no consequence when the trust come out, ain’t they gonna take Peal away?
Writer was clearly favored in Mai and Babe side. And how did Babe break into a freaking rich house so easy, what kind of rich neighborhood and rich house is that? Don’t they lock the door? Babe is just a waiter, how and when did she learn to break in?
Meanwhile, Izzy can’t even get into her rented house that she had to go find a spare key. How did Babe leave the country with a baby without any authority notice? Don’t they need a passport to leave? And if she can just break in like that and can’t be caught what was the point of fighting in the courts?
And what kind of fantasy is it to think Izzy will be safe, she is a 15 years old, walking alone. She either get pick by police or kidnap and rape.
The message of this book is as a mother u can break law, rule and contract and you won’t suffer any consequences because you love your child.
i totally agreeeed on everything u commented on this book, i found those characters as flat as their names i just don’t wanna finished reading the rest half
I did not find that Celeste demonized Mrs. Richardson, I think that Mrs. Richardson's actions speak volumes about her character, which to me is clearly self-righteous and arrogant. As long as things go the way she wants, she's this perfect mother and wife living a perfect life. Mia is not perfect and Celeste makes that very clear, as she dedicates plenty of pages on discussing her past and why she lives the way she does. Mia was simply living her life, humble and all.
I agree with all of this. I was let down by how heavy-handed the book’s messages were, and the fact that Ng is clearly portraying Mia as the protagonist when she is in fact an extremely problematic, and dare I say, selfish character. Being an artist myself, I hate how artists are stereotypically portrayed in media as being poor, reclusive, misunderstood and/or nomadic. Having learned more about Ng and her opinions on the Bad Art Friend situation was enlightening too. She seems biased against white people (I’m saying this as someone who’s not white). Siding with her Asian friend who plagiarized a woman’s kidney donation story and then bringing race into her argument. I’m not making wild accusations; look it up. Once you realize her stance, it’s very obvious in this book. I just really dislike when authors bring up big ideas and moral questions, create nuanced characters from different walks of life, and then tell me how to think about it all. I found Elena to be a more three dimensional character than Mia in the end.
What an excellent and articulate review! I agree with all your criticisms. Seriously, how is this novel SO popular? I found nothing in this book to be particularly compelling or insightful. Her writing is certainly clear, but it's plain, stale, and-worst of all-forgettable. It irks me that this book is marketed as "literary" fiction; like, talk about a real slap in the face to true poets and wordsmiths!! And the slanted, sanctimonious treatment of the characters was exasperating. Sorry Celeste, but Mia is not a good person, no matter how hard you try to romanticize her as some defiant, arty angel. I, for one, found myself agreeing with Elena more often than not, flawed as she may also be. A very disappointing and wrongheaded novel indeed.
COMPLETELY AGREE with your review! After watching the show, it felt even more true and I couldn't figure out why everyone loves it so much.
Just finished it. Totally agree with you
(This comment does contain spoilers)
Okay, so I really need to rant about one thing you said, and I'm aware that your review is two years old so your feelings might have changed. But it really annoys me when people say things like "for all intents and purposes adopted" when that's not the case. That only applies when an adoption is finalized - before that, it's in the process of adoption. Which doesn't (have) to say anything about the love of any people involved, it's just that it's really not correct to refer to people as adoptive parents when they haven't actually adopted the child one is referring to.
Okay, rant over.
I think Celeste Ng didn't say that biological motherhood is the most "real" kind of motherhood. Just that it can affect of the mother in question to make drastic choices. Personally, I do think that Linda was less of a mother than Bebe, because she never paid even a single earnest thought as to how to incorporate May Ling's culture and heritage into her life. Not to mention the absolute disregard and disrespect she had for Bebe. If May Ling had grown up with the McCulloughs, she would for sure have been told horrible things about her mother and would likely have come to loathe herself.
In a way, she would have become Izzy, I suppose. Hopefully with as good a moral compass as Izzy, but judging by the other Richardson kids, it's not easy to be raised by such selfish, self-entitled egomaniacs and come out a good person.
But overall, I think Ng tried to be empathetic to all of her characters, which might be why she didn't outright condemn anyone of them.
Thank u so much for speaking my mind....for being the only sane reviewer of this shitty book...I regret why I ordered it in first place...super unlikeable and horrible book...I mean how can anyone not see how selfish Mia was towards her parents and the couple for whom she was surrogating...How did she come out of this so easily.How come you not see that Bebe made a huge mistake giving up her child and if a family adopted that child(that what she wanted..yeah?) She became against them and wanted to take her baby back and why it was portrayed that the baby should only belongs to biological parents? smh...very bad author I must say...She doesnt need to imply that to the readers.Sje doesnt force the readers to like a certain charevter because SHE thinks shes likeable...She portarayed Mrs Richardson an evil person and Mia a sweet person...what I felt about them was the opposite... Yeah I didnt surely liked Mrs Richardson alot or found her sweet but I couldn't help hating Mia for her selfishness towards that Ryan couple and her old and miserable lonely parents whom she left behind..Atleast Mrs Richardson was not like her in any way...last but not least..how can you spare Pearl for that cheating thing she did on Moody..At the end of ghe book it was implied that Moody should be sorry for her arrogance towards Pearl but in real Pearl should have been ashamed of her act which she wasn't..
Such a shitty book...recomment to no one..Dont get the hype really why people like it so much..Shame!!!
Hi, I write this 3 years later but well, I agree about the fact that Moody shouldn't be the only one to say sorry. But it’s more like a feeling that I have about it than having a real argument to say that Pearl should be ashamed of herself, if you could explain what you were thinking about her “cheating thing” she did on Moody. And finally I wanted to add that it annoyed me when Izzy said that he “betrayed her intentionally” when he actually just told the truth ,which would have been the same if he didn’t, because it wasn’t changing anything for Mrs Richardson who was only thinking that Pearl “had a bad influence or smt on her boys”. So, in any case Mrs Richardson would have put Mia and Pearl out.
Yes! So glad to see this review; I had similar thoughts. There was no subtlety to this book. I was expecting it to get more nuanced, but nope, we got a caricature of a confrontation between Bad, Conventional Elena and Wise, Free-Spirited Mia. And Ng introduced a lot of moments by giving them a weird sense of gravitas but then never explored them (Pearl and Trip, Mr. Richardson's conflicting feelings about the hearing-which really just ended up feeling like an afterthought to try and flesh out his character). The whole adoption subplot felt like nothing more a vehicle for her to explore some of the broader questions about racial identity (something I found really compelling in Everything I Never Told You but not so much here, especially with the weird subtext you pointed out regarding motherhood) and a convenient way to pit Elena against Mia instead of a well-executed and well-integrated element of the story.
Yes!! I totally agree with all of this - so frustrating on many levels! I also found Everything I Never Told You a lot more compelling, which is part of why I was especially disappointed by this book. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)
Thank you for your review I really needed it after reading the book! It flet so universally praised that i for sure thought it would be a five star read, but i had similar problems as you with the story. Both the weird desription about biological motherhood trumps everything and how it feels she is pushing her narrative down your throught. Also i think her writing is way too much telling instead of showing.
I disagree with the criticism that the biological motherhood was somehow shown to be superior. Just look at how the relationship between Mia & Izzy was portrayed and concluded. I do agree with the canonization of Mia, It was quite over the top. I actually listened to the book while driving and the simple visual language did help, making it an enjoyable experience.
God thank you for the moral high ground bit. I felt like this book was trying to lead me by the neck to these conclusions about class and race and rebellion that I personally think were both presented and defended really poorly. And also seemed to fetishize poverty in a way I found really gross.
Thanks for the review, helped me.
Just read it (in Russian translation). What you said seems totally fair to me
This book made me angry. It’s one of the only books I’ve ever read which tries to get the reader to side with a character who is straight up a horrible person
Subscribed. Thank you for a great review. Your incisive analysis is refreshing. I agree her writing is simple and direct. The strength of her writing lends to a more pulp fiction style not literary. The similes are tired and you feel exhausted trying to force it through.
Thanks for stopping by!
I totally agree with your review. There was no surprise in the story either. Very predictable.
I didn't enjoy her first book. I found it to be a cookie-cutter, MFA-born pot boiler. It wasn't very good. I picked this up because of all the buzz around it and wondered if she had grown with her second novel. Instead this book made me angry. It's just plain rubbish. Ugh. I think you've been way fairer towards the book than I can be. I'm more of an impressionistic reader and I found this to be wholly awful.
SPOILER ALERT
I did not think the novel made you think that the biological mother was more entitled to the child. Actually, to me, it looked like both sides were right, and I saw the reasons behind both the couple and the Chinese woman. I could not pick a side. To me, the book finishes with the biological mother taking the child and going back to China in a way to sort of get a revenge to that upper class family, once the poor Chinese woman would not be able to win that fight against a US-born and rich family.
And I thought the fact you rooted for Mrs Richardson (I did too) was intentional from Ng. She is a humane and complex character. The last paragraphs in the book prove so.
The thing to me that made me like the book a little less were some of its coincidences. The fact Mia would meet a woman (Bebe) who had gone through the same moral stalemate she did was a little hard for me to swallow. Also, when Lexie put Pearl's name in the clinic, I was rolling my eyes like "ok, Pearl will have consequences later", etc. But I devoured this in a day, so, I guess it was an addictive read and that it would be good on TV.
Thanks for this really thoughtful response! It's always nice to hear from someone who liked the book in the comments of a mostly negative review.
I think with regards to the adoption story, I was just frustrated because I feel like that's such a complex situation and a storyline that deserved to be much more fleshed out and deeply explored than it was. I don't think Celeste Ng, in a novel that was relatively short and concerned with so many story threads, gave this one the attention and nuance and space that it deserved (I think Bebe in particular deserved more fleshing out). I did, however, feel that there were some undercurrents of Bebe being portrayed as a superior mother because of the biological link (for example, the baby doesn't make a peep when her real mother picks her up out of the crib to take her away), but what bothered me most was that the adoptive parents adopt another baby shortly after (a seeming replacement baby) and then, I guess, just decide to forget about May Ling/Mirabelle? That just rubbed me the wrong way and struck me as weird...again, more fleshing out and nuance maybe would have made that grate less for me.
And I guess I disagree about the Mrs. Richardson point, in that I wasn't rooting for her as a person (she was mostly awful), I was rooting for her in hopes that Celeste Ng would give her better character development and somehow turn her into a less one-dimensional character. I think that Celeste Ng keeps her at arm's length throughout the book (note that she is almost always referred to as Mrs. Richardson instead of Elena, which I think creates an initial sort of distance between her and the reader), and by the end of the book she was completely villainized and made into a caricature in a way I didn't appreciate. I don't think the last page humanized her at all, it felt like kind of a last-ditch, unearned effort on Ng's part to make her feel human. But that was just my reading of it.
And yet, despite all that, I agree with you that it was very readable! I almost hope Reese Witherspoon or someone decides to make it into a miniseries (a la Big Little Lies), because I think having the space of 8 or so episodes might give this story the depth and nuance that Celeste Ng couldn't cram into 330 pages.
I completely agree.
Good review, very articulate. I've just finished reading and liked it, especially for its readability and that it's easy to visualise but I agree with pretty much everything you said. Just one point though: you do realise that the characters are not real, so it's not possible to treat them fairly or unfairly!
what worried *me* was the fact that she underlines racial prejudice again and again. btw: same in her debut novel.
I didn't have an issue with that at all - I just wish all of the themes in this book had been more fleshed out. I actually really liked 'Everything I Never Told You' because it was more contained and gave her room to explore her themes in greater depth.
I really liked your review! It seemed like at least two books to me. She just tried to do too much in too small of a space. I also didn’t like her portrayal of women with infertility in the context of her discussion of motherhood. And you described my feeling about her portrayal of families who adopt so well. From her interviews, I don’t think she meant to do that. But at the same time, that’s def a reading you could take from it, and that I felt in particular.
Thanks so much, Kendra! And yeah, I totally agree - I think this book really suffered from how short it was (short, at least, given the number of storylines and topics she was trying to tackle). And I also don't think she meant for those issues of biological motherhood/infertility/adoption to come off so weird, and I think if she had devoted more pages to those topics, they would have been more nuanced and less bizarre. At least that's my assumption because based on interviews (like you said) and her Twitter presence, she seems like a really cool and thoughtful person. The book just seemed a little too rushed to talk about those issues in a meaningful way.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and will bear them in mind. I haven't read this one, not even sure it's available in Australia where I am, but I found a copy of her first novel here second hand and loved it. The two novels sound different as EINTY focused on one family of mixed-race Asian-Caucasian background and the steps the led to one of the family killing herself; LFE has a huge list of characters I hear. Do have a listen to the launch of LFE to get a bit more perspective though, she definitely at least have someone to consult about the adoption issue. ruclips.net/video/1qgsXs7CTx0/видео.html Also, while I haven't read LFE yet I do feel that even though people of non-traditional family makeups do admirably under the circumstances not everyone agrees that it is ideal, and that traditional families are still desirable as the ideal for best upbringing. Disagree if one wants, but it's important to respect those differences of view.
Personally, I liked the artist characters, the way the orderly usualky wealthy way of living is compared to the photographer's drifting life. When the adoption was introduced around the 140 page the plot stopped interesting me. But the abortion plot felt completely realistic to me, even if its not too original. And I liked the ending, the Richardson woman looking for her lost daughter. That humanised her, and even if she is flawed, I liked her more than the photographer mother.
I liked parts of it. The Asian baby plot bored me, but everything else was OK. Not brilliant but OK.
Glad I'm from Laguna beach
Completely agree
read it recently, also a victim of high ratings and accolades, and I hated it!
Yes spot on!
There was no need for that much swearing..
Can't agree more!:)
I didn’t like it either. I couldn’t get myself to care about the characters. Actually kind of boring.
None of the characters are likeable in my opinion
I didn’t love it either
Agree totally. Disappointing read.
It's going to be a movie as you've predicted.
I saw that!! Honestly, I'm pretty excited about it because I think a limited series format might allow them to flesh out some of the storylines that I felt got short shrift in the book-and Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are 🔥🔥🔥 so fingers crossed it's great!