For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago and beyond, all the way to the beginning over a decade and a half ago. It will take a while. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions on a weekly basis. Here are the questions from a 2018 title, Little Fires Everywhere. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Little Fires Everywhere
by Celeste Ng
Summary:
From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more...
Discussion Questions
Official Questions
Shaker Heights is almost another character in the novel. Do you believe that “the best communities are planned”? Why or why not?
Little Fires Everywhere is set in the late 1990s, and we see the experiences of marginalized characters in the novel, as well as their interactions with those in the larger community. In what ways are attitudes toward race and class the same today? In what ways are they different?
There are many different kinds of mother-daughter relationships in the novel. Which ones did you find most compelling? Do mothers have a unique ability to spark fires, for good and ill, in us?
Which of the Richardson children is most changed by the events of the novel? How do you think this time ultimately changes Lexie’s life? Trip’s? Moody’s?
The debate over the fate of May Ling/Mirabelle is multilayered and heartbreaking. Who do you think should raise her?
How is motherhood defined throughout the book? How do choice, opportunity, and circumstances impact different characters’ approach to motherhood?
Mia’s journey to becoming an artist is almost a beautiful novella of its own. Mia’s art clearly has the power to change lives. What piece of art has shaped your life in an important way?
Pearl has led a singular life before arriving in Shaker, but once she meets the Richardsons, she has the chance to become a “normal” teenager. Is that a good thing?
What ultimately bothers Elena most about Mia?
The novel begins with a great conflagration, but its conclusion in even more devastating. What do you think happens to Elena after the novel ends? To Mia and Pearl? To Izzy? Do you think Izzy ever returns to Shaker and her family? Why or why not?
Celeste Ng is noted for her ability to shift between the perspectives of different characters in her work. How does that choice shape the reader’s experience of the novel?
Izzy chooses “This Be the Verse” to sum up her life. Is what the poem says accurate, in the context of Izzy’s experience?
What does the title mean to you? What about the book’s dedication?
Original Questions
In what ways do Mia’s and Elena’s understanding of what motherhood is differ or stay the same? How do they reflect their various experiences? How they, themselves, were raised?
Durring the trial, Ed Lim, attorney for Bebe Chow, mentions the difficulty of finding materials that reflect the Asian-American experience. Did this surprise you? Can you think of any other ways in which this might affect the American experience? In what ways do you see the absence of role models that look like minority children in toys, books and other materials affecting them growing up? Or do you see it as overemphasized?
Why is Pearl Warren drawn to the Richardson family? Why are the siblings drawn to her?
What do you think should have been the outcome of the trial?
This book was set two decades prior to when it was written. Why do you think it was so important to set the novel in that time-period?
What do you think the lives of the characters would be like today?
In what ways do the events of the story color your understanding of Mrs Richardson? Do you feel sympathy for her by the end of the story?
How are issues of race and class handled in the novel? Do you think it was effective? How do these issues affect the outcome of the book?
Describe Shaker Heights and its sense of itself as a refuge and "a little bit of heaven on earth." Would you enjoy living there or somewhere like it? Consider why Celeste Ng might have set her novel in such a place?
How does Mrs. Richardson respond to the fire — immediately and then later at night. What does she come to realize about Izzy and her role in her daughter's behavior. Does she gain your sympathy at the end?
How do you see things going for the three missing characters at the end of the book: Mia, Pear, and Izzy?
Art and the ability to see the world in a different light plays a significant role in the novel. It seems to have the ability to change people’s lives. What piece of art has shaped or changed you? Is it a favorite piece or one that you can’t stand? In what way has it affected you?
In what ways are attitudes of race and class different and the same today as in the late 1990s, when the book is set?
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