Devi Nair
š§ Listened in audio š¢ Narrated by Jennifer Lim ā± Duration: 11 hours š·ļø Publisher: Penguin Audio and Penguin Press (12 September 2017) š Read as a part of May Book Club reads
Book clubs everywhere were raving about Little Fires Everywhere, and I went in ready for family drama, moral complexity, and that Celeste Ng magic everyone kept mentioning. I finished it. I made it all the way through. And honestly, I still have no idea what just happened. If it wasn't for book club, I would've DNF'd this at 60% and never looked back, and I don't think I would've missed a thing. This was one of the weirdest reading experiences I've had in a long time, and not in a good way.
The story kept piling on. Mia's secrets, Elena's obsession, the custody battle, the Richardson kids, Pearl's identity crisis, the house fire. But nothing ever clicked. I see what happened. I watched Elena spiral into her investigation of Mia. I witnessed Mia's tragic backstory unfold. I know Izzy burned the house down. But do I understand why any of it mattered? Nope. Why did Elena do what she did? What was driving Mia's choices beyond the obvious? How did it all come together, and more importantly, why did it come together the way it did? What was the point?
I'm walking into book club with nothing but questions. Not the "wow, let's debate the themes" kind of questions. The "what on earth was this supposed to be about" kind. The characters never felt real to me, the stakes never felt urgent, and the ending left me more confused than satisfied. Jennifer Lim did her best with the narration, but even a strong performance couldn't save me from the chaos. I'm desperate for someone to explain what I just read, because right now, it feels like a lot of noise with no clear message.
š§ Listened in audio š¢ Narrated by Jennifer Lim ā± Duration: 11 hours š·ļø Publisher: Penguin Audio and Penguin Press (12 September 2017) š Read as a part of May Book Club reads
Book clubs everywhere were raving about Little Fires Everywhere, and I went in ready for family drama, moral complexity, and that Celeste Ng magic everyone kept mentioning. I finished it. I made it all the way through. And honestly, I still have no idea what just happened. If it wasn't for book club, I would've DNF'd this at 60% and never looked back, and I don't think I would've missed a thing. This was one of the weirdest reading experiences I've had in a long time, and not in a good way.
The story kept piling on. Mia's secrets, Elena's obsession, the custody battle, the Richardson kids, Pearl's identity crisis, the house fire. But nothing ever clicked. I see what happened. I watched Elena spiral into her investigation of Mia. I witnessed Mia's tragic backstory unfold. I know Izzy burned the house down. But do I understand why any of it mattered? Nope. Why did Elena do what she did? What was driving Mia's choices beyond the obvious? How did it all come together, and more importantly, why did it come together the way it did? What was the point?
I'm walking into book club with nothing but questions. Not the "wow, let's debate the themes" kind of questions. The "what on earth was this supposed to be about" kind. The characters never felt real to me, the stakes never felt urgent, and the ending left me more confused than satisfied. Jennifer Lim did her best with the narration, but even a strong performance couldn't save me from the chaos. I'm desperate for someone to explain what I just read, because right now, it feels like a lot of noise with no clear message.