Celeste Ng grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan. Her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the ALA's Alex Award. Little Fires Everywhere, Ng's second novel, was a New York Times bestseller, winner of the Ohioana Book Award, and named a best book of the year by over twenty-five publications. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and she was the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting. With brilliance and beauty, Celeste Ng dissects a microcosm of American society just when we need to see it beneath the microscope: how do questions of race stack up against the comfort of privilege, and what role does that play in parenting? Is motherhood a bond forged by blood, or by love? And perhaps most importantly: do the faults of our past determine what we deserve in the future? Be ready to be wowed by Ng's writing -- and unsettled by the mirror held up to one's own beliefs. --Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and Leaving Time
"Witty, wise, and tender. It's a marvel." --Paula Hawkins,
author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water
"Witnessing these two families as they commingle and clash is an
utterly engrossing, often heartbreaking, deeply empathetic
experience...It's this vast and complex network of moral
affiliations--and the nuanced omniscient voice that Ng employs to
navigate it--that make this novel even more ambitious and
accomplished than her debut...Our trusty narrator is as powerful
and persuasive and delightfully clever as the narrator in a
Victorian novel...It is a thrillingly democratic use of
omniscience, and, for a novel about class, race, family and the
dangers of the status quo, brilliantly apt...The magic of this
novel lies in its power to implicate all of its characters--and
likely many of its readers--in that innocent delusion [of a
post-racial America]. Who set the littles fires everywhere? We keep
reading to find out, even as we suspect that it could be us with
ash on our hands." --Eleanor Henderson, The New York Times
Book Review "[Ng] captures her setting with an
ethnologist's authority...And there are time-capsule pleasures in
her evocation of 1997...The writing is poised." --Wall Street
Journal "Delectable and engrossing...A complex and compulsively
readable suburban saga that is deeply invested in mothers and
daughters...What Ng has written, in this thoroughly entertaining
novel, is a pointed and persuasive social critique, teasing out the
myriad forms of privilege and predation that stand between so many
people and their achievement of the American dream. But there is a
heartening optimism, too. This is a book that believes in the
transformative powers of art and genuine kindness -- and in the
promise of new growth, even after devastation, even after
everything has turned to ash." --Boston Globe "[Ng]
widens her aperture to include a deeper, more diverse cast of
characters. Though the book's language is clean and
straightforward, almost conversational, Ng has an acute sense of
how real people (especially teenagers, the slang-slinging
kryptonite of many an aspiring novelist) think and feel and
communicate. Shaker Heights may be a place where "things were
peaceful, and riots and bombs and earthquakes were quiet thumps,
muffled by distance.' But the real world is never as far away as it
seems, of course. And if the scrim can't be broken, sometimes you
have to burn it down. Grade: A-" --Entertainment
Weekly "Stellar...The plot is tightly structured, full of
echoes and convergence, the characters bound together by a growing
number of thick, overlapping threads....Ng is a confident, talented
writer, and it's a pleasure to inhabit the lives of her characters
and experience the rhythms of Shaker Heights through her clean,
observant prose. Before she became an author she was a miniaturist
-- almost too perfect for a writer of suburban fiction -- and
there's a lovely, balanced, dioramic quality to this novel. She
toggles between multiple points of view, creating a narrative both
broad in scope and fine in detail, all while keeping the story
moving at a thriller's pace." --LA Times
"Riveting...unearthing the ways that race, class, motherhood and
belonging intersect to shape each individual...Perhaps Ng's most
impressive feat is inviting the reader's forgiveness for Mrs.
Richardson -- a woman whose own mission for perfection, and strict
adherence to rules ultimately become the catalyst for the maelstrom
that ensues." --Chicago Tribune "Like Sue Monk Kidd or Madeleine
Thien, Celeste Ng has a carpenter's sure touch in constructing
nested, interconnected plots...There are few novelists writing
today who are as wise, compassionate and unsparing as Ng, about the
choices you make, the ones you don't, and the price you might pay
for missed lives." --Financial Times When you're in the mood for
family drama that's not your own, Little Fires Everywhere by
CelesteNg will have you hooked. --The Skimm
"Sharp and entertaining--you can't look away even when things are
crashing and burning (literally)--and it possibly ranks up there
with all-time great suburbia fiction, like Jeffrey Eugenides's
The Virgin Suicides." --Goop "Opposites attract and also
ignite in this thoughtful novel." --People Ng writes with the
wisdom of a hundred lives lived." --Harpers Bazaar "A riveting read
and one of our favorite new works of fiction this fall."
--Refinery29 "[Ng] probes privilege and the compromises it
requires in a riveting novel." --O, The Oprah Magazine "A
meditation on rules, race, class, insiders, outsiders, motherhood.
There is no throwaway character. And after you've raced to the end
of the book, you'll want to read it again, to take the ideas and
hold them up to the harsh light of 2017. Ng's novel would be a
great read in any time period--but if you're struggling with the
present moment and how we got here, this novel will do what any
good piece of fiction does: illuminate." --Barrie Hardymon,
NPR's Best Books of 2017 "Like Everything I Never Told You,
Ng's excellent debut, the book plots its way into a smart,
accessible conversation about race and class. But free of the
restraints of Everything's thriller construction, Little Fires
gives Ng the space and patience to confront how progressive-minded
communities approach identity." --GQ.com "[A] suspenseful,
tense tale." --W Magazine
"[Ng's] descriptions are so dead-on you can practically see the
Cleveland skyline as you ride shotgun with these characters."
--Glamour
"A meditation on the unspoken pains and contradictions of
motherhood. Its story unspools all the raw, knotted tensions that
go into making a family...Choosing a rambling van over a 401(k)
isn't a sign of delinquent parenting in Ng's universe; it's just
one of a series of possible paths, with its own unique pleasures
and pitfalls." --Refinery29 "Unmissable...Ng's psychological
insight is acute, yet generous, ...Little Fires Everywhere examines
the cruelties that we unwittingly inflict on those we claim to
love." Claire Fallon, HuffPost's Best Fiction Books of 2017
"Takes unerring aim at upper-middle-class America's blind spots...a
nuanced study of mothers and daughters and the burden of not
belonging to our families or our communities."
--Vogue"Totally absorbing, each character drawn so well it
makes it impossible to decide whose side you're on." --Marie Claire
"Ng writes with the wisdom of a hundred lives lived, churning out
complex characters mostly sympathetic, sometimes loathsome, but all
startlingly human." --HarpersBazaar.com "Fans of novelist
Celeste Ng's debut, Everything I Never Told You, and devotees of
her resistance-ready Twitter feed can rejoice...The story drifts
effortlessly between characters; each is full and memorable as they
coax the novel to its fiery climax. Ng reminds us that action is a
choice, and you'll want to keep reading until the last irreversible
actions play out." --Bust "Couldn't be more timely...
Little Fires Everywhere might just be the signpost that we
need, pointing a way forward with the gentle suggestion that
sometimes doing the right thing means breaking some rules." --Paste
"Compelling...Little Fires Everywhere invests all of its
emotional energies in the relationship between mothers and their
children...in Ng's precisely rendered perfect suburb." -Vox "Ng's
taut class drama is calibrated for fireworks." --New York
Magazine, Books to Read This Fall "Written with deep
empathy and vivid characters who feel true to life, Little Fires
Everywhere is a captivating, insightful examination of
motherhood, identity, family, privilege, perfectionism, obsession,
and the secrets about ourselves we try to hide." --Buzzfeed
"There are few modern writers as brilliant at capturing the
complexities of a family as Celeste Ng...The book is smart,
nuanced, and exhilarating--but more than anything, Little Fires
Everywhere is a gorgeous exploration of motherhood in its many
forms, and the many different paths that women travel to get
there." --Shondaland.com "Ng's uncanny ability to embody
multiple viewpoints makes for a powerful, revelatory novel."
--BBC.com, Ten Books to Read in September "The
un-put-downable story that everyone will be talking about this
Fall. A must read for book clubs." -PopSugar "Equal parts clever,
relatable, surprising and unsettling... Ng covers a lot of ground
here, from class nuance to the nature of conformity. But the story
really shines when she examines complex mother-daughter
relationships and how they work...until they don't." --PureWow
"Engrossing...Ng's characters are authentic and complex, but it's
her confident narration that will invite readers to settle in for
the ride--a storyteller who knows what she's doing is at the
wheel...With each revelation, Little Fires Everywhere grows more
propulsive and insightful, boring through the placid surface of
American suburbia." --Dallas Morning News "Ng has one-upped herself
with her tremendous follow-up novel... a finely wrought meditation
on the nature of motherhood, the dangers of privilege and a
cautionary tale about how even the tiniest of secrets can rip
families apart... Ng is a master at pushing us to look at our
personal and societal flaws in the face and see them with new
eyes... If "Little Fires Everywhere" doesn't give you pause and
help you think differently about humanity and this country's
current state of affairs, start over from the beginning and read
the book again." --San Francisco Chronicle "The truth is
messy for everyone in Little Fires Everywhere. As she did so well
in Everything I Never Told You, Ng crafts sympathetic backstories
for the characters that make their decisions understandable if not
entirely acceptable. She also creates layered portraits, especially
of the girls and women, to raise questions about what mothers can
give and what their children need when no one can stick to the
rules." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Ng's talent for depth of story
and character development shines and will stay with you long after
you've finished the book." --Richmond Times-Dispatch "Immersive
and thought-provoking...Hang on and prepare to be mesmerized as you
meet two families in idyllic Shaker Heights, Ohio." --The
Missourian "A haunting, layered story of mothers and daughters,
and how they attract and repel each other." - Seattle Times "A
multilayered, tightly focused and expertly plotted narrative...A
deeply impressive novel with the power to provoke and entrance."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune "One of the best novels of the fall
is an emotional tale about motherhood, class and so much more...
Everything I Never Told You, was good, but this is better."
--AARP.org "Mesmerizing...The result is a deftly woven plot
that examines a multitude of issues, including class, wealth,
artistic vision, abortion, race, prejudice and cultural privilege."
--BookPage "Ng's best-selling first novel Everything I Never
Told You proved her deft hand at crafting family dramas with the
deep-rooted tension of a thriller, a skill she puts to
pitch-perfect effect in her latest entry...that is equal parts
simmering and soulful." --HarpersBazaar.com
"A quiet but powerful look at family, secrets, and running from the
past. Once again, Ng has delivered a near-perfect novel."
--BookRiot "An intricate and captivating portrait of an
eerily perfect suburban town with its dark undertones
not-quite-hidden from view and a powerful and suspenseful novel
about motherhood...Ng explores the complexities of adoption,
surrogacy, abortion, privacy, and class, questioning all the while
who earns, who claims, and who loses the right to be called a
mother...an impressive accomplishment." --Publishers Weekly
(starred review) "Ng's stunning second novel is a multilayered
examination of how identities are forged and maintained, how
families are formed and friendships tested, and how the notion of
motherhood is far more fluid than bloodlines would suggest...[A]
tour de force."--Booklist (starred review) "This
incandescent portrait of suburbia and family, creativity, and
consumerism burns bright... As in Everything I Never Told
You, Ng conjures a sense of place and displacement and shows a
remarkable ability to see--and reveal--a story from different
perspectives. The characters she creates here are wonderfully
appealing, and watching their paths connect--like little trails of
flame leading inexorably toward one another to create a big
inferno--is mesmerizing, casting into new light ideas about
creativity and consumerism, parenthood and privilege. With her
second novel, Ng further proves she's a sensitive, insightful
writer with a striking ability to illuminate life in America."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred) Spectacular sophomore work...a
magnificent, multilayered epic that's perfect for eager readers and
destined for major award lists. -- Library Journal (starred
review) Little Fires Everywhere takes us deep into other
people's homes and lives and darkest corners. Along the way,
Celeste Ng is always witty, engrossing, unsparing and original.
--Meg Wolitzer Little Fires Everywhere is a dazzlingly protean
work - a comedy of manners that doubles as a social novel and reads
like a thriller. By turns wry, heart-rending and gimlet-eyed, it
confirms Celeste Ng's genius for gripping literary fiction.
--Peter Ho Davies, author of The Fortunes As if it wasn't
totally obvious from her stunning first novel, Little Fires
Everywhere showcases what makes Celeste Ng such a masterful writer.
The way she examines the complexity of place, and the people who
inhabit that place, is some of the most virtuosic, compelling, and
wise storytelling that I've seen in a long time. By looking so
closely at this community, she opens up the entire world, and it's
an amazing experience. --Kevin Wilson, author of The Family
Fang and Perfect Little World Yes, it's the story of one
Ohio town, but Little Fires Everywhere is not that familiar tale of
the underside of the American suburb. It's a powerful work about
parenthood and politics, adolescent strife and artistic ambition,
and the stark choice between conformity and community. Celeste Ng
possesses the remarkable ability to write about the most serious of
subjects with the lightest possible touch. --Rumaan Alam, author
of Rich and Pretty I cracked open this book mid-morning and did
not even move again until it was time to turn on a light. What a
joy it was to be so thoroughly taken, to let the chores and clocks
and even my own breathing stop while I raced through these pages.
Celeste Ng once again proves she is a force to be reckoned
with. Little Fires Everywhere is a deft, smoldering
masterpiece. --Mira Jacob, author of The Sleepwalker's Guide
to Dancing As I read Celeste Ng's second novel I found myself
thinking, again and again: how does she know so much? About all of
us? How does she write with such perception, such marvelous grace,
such daring and generosity? Little Fires Everywhere has the
irresistible pace of an expertly tuned thriller, and the
observational brilliance of lasting literature. It marks Celeste Ng
as a writer of the first rank, among the very best in her
generation - right there with Zadie Smith and Jacqueline Woodson. I
was mad for this book. --Joe Hill, author of The Fireman
and Heart-Shaped Box "I was fascinated, not to mention worried
about, and frightened of and for, these intriguing characters.
Celeste Ng is a powerful and poignant writer whose attention to
detail is pitch-perfect. Her intuitive rendering of how and why
people behave in such unflattering ways is important. Her writing
is honest and rich--and I love how little fires spread here until
they're put out." --Terry McMillan, author of I Almost Forgot
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