2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.


Pages: 368 pages


Length: 1 Month (March)


Participants: Berengaria, Ina, Maisha, Sportyrod.


Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Hi Everyone,
This is my first buddy read. Looking forward to it.
Rod

Hi all!

It's my first buddy read, as well. I'll be reading the German edition, not the English as it's easier for me to get my hands on.

I've looked and there are plenty of reading club questions about this novel available online. We'll have a lot to talk about.🗣

What do you think of the set up?

1. the "Textbook Utopia" of Shaker Heights as symbolised by Mrs Richardson vs

2. the "Alternative Utopia" (artistic ideal) of Mia & Pearl Warren vs

3. the "Dystopia" of little firestarter Izzy.

This seems like a clash, not only of lifestyles/mentalities, but to also ask the question "What world do each of us want to live in and how does that automatically invite judgement/conflict?" As certainly, this 3-way split is just made to collide with each other.

What do you all make of the initial set up?

What do you think of all the K-Mart fiction?

Something you can't overlook is all the references to brands, bands and cultural hiccups.

For me, this heavily detracts from the story as it robs it of a 'timeless' feel and will age/travel badly. Does anybody remember Sir Mix-a-Lot for more than his 1 hit? TLC? Does anybody remember the TV show "Green Acres" well enough to understand why Mrs Richardson would be laughing? Do we need to know the exact chain where the characters went to eat?

Do these references help you get a feeling for the culture, or are many of them things you don't remember/never saw or can't connect to (because you aren't American)?

This is called "K-mart fiction" in the US. How do you feel about it in general and when applied to this story in particular?

Hey Everyone,

I just started reading this now. Will wait til I get past chapter 3 before my next comments.

Rod

This was made into a mini series with Reese Witherspoon playing Mrs Richardson. There were some significant differences from the book. Just an fyi. I read the book I'm January and enjoyed it.

I read this book and watched the tv show last year. One of my favorites.

Alyana wrote: "I read this book and watched the tv show last year. One of my favorites."

Hello! What did you enjoy about it? What made it so good for you?

I’m only on page 60 so not ready with any big opinions yet. Just getting into it. I think some hearts will be broken soon if it’s heading in the direction I think it is. Not sure about Izzy yet. Enjoying the story so far.

"Ina wrote: As an American, I felt like these references are plot devices to put the story specifically in a certain time. I think that at the time the story seems to be set, the Shaker Heights utopia is not something that would have been familiar all over the U.S.


I've got a different feeling. The late 40s-1950s saw the first real planned communities, the first cookie-cutter, idealistic way of living with all the new communities for returning soldiers. The movie "Independence Road" (Winslett/di Caprio) and the novel/movie "The Stepford Wives" shows really well how this was prevalent in that time and how much certain people feared it. Many "modern Americans" all over the country lived in a type of Shaker Heights.

In many ways, Shaker Heights is old-fashioned, a throw-back, a fossil. 1997 was almost post-grunge, when discontent and "The American Dream is dead" feeling started creeping around among the youth.

I'm wondering specifically why THAT year, though. Why not make it a timeless story? Certainly, the idea of utopias have been around for at least 500 years.

I understand you're on chapter 5 (and I've finished) but can you think of any reason why 1997 was the year chosen? And not, say, 1957? Or...I think would've been even better for the story: 1967. '67 would have really showed off the topics and conflicts in the story better. (established elite vs nomadic servant/artist)

Midway through book: I don’t get the dystopia realms. Izzy is so bad then so virtuous. Or is she? I feel like George R R Martin does this more effectively. There are similarities (in a far inferior way) of 1) Get you to like someone or their perspective, 2) give opposing side to make you change sides, 3) giving both perspectives to make you decide.

I haven’t picked up on the American references that were mentioned but perhaps as a non-American they flew over my head.

Mrs Richardson’s prying is doing my head in.

It’s all very melodramatic. Can’t the custody case just get sorted at the courts and get back to the original character stories. Go back there.

Sportyrod wrote: "Midway through book: I don’t get the dystopia realms. Izzy is so bad then so virtuous. Or is she? I feel like George R R Martin does this more effectively. There are similarities (in a far inferior..."

Ah, that was a question about the initial set up in chapters 1&2.

I meant that both Mrs Richardson and Mia think their lives are wonderful (utopias). But Izzy is living in the Richardson utopia -- and thinking it's awful and trying to throw wrenches into the works every chance she gets by dressing like a depressed Goth, giving rude answers, not trying.

Oh I see what you mean. The orderly household and the airy one.

I found the book way better then the series.

Finito. 2 stars. Thanks for the buddy read team. It was great chatting throughout the book.

Sportyrod wrote: "Finito. 2 stars. Thanks for the buddy read team. It was great chatting throughout the book."

Ha! You gave it a star more than I did. Looking forward to your (scathing) review! ;)