The summer’s been really busy with work. I did manage to finish a book though. Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere is the equivalent to those movies you know will be an Oscar contender. It’s literary lush. I think that’s a saying.
There’s so much to say about this book. I am a fan of anyone who can keep track of so many characters, and still manage to help the reader get and understand all of them. Amazing. Inspiring. Ng makes me want to write in 3rd person one day. One day I will be brave.
What else can I say? The prose. Beautiful but if you’ve read Ng’s work before you’d already know that she is a wordsmith. Her way with metaphors, characterization, location and feelings just build and build until you’re like this is brilliant.
The best part is I had no clue how it was going to end. I thought one thing from the opening pages, but by the end I didn’t expect what happened.
Another thing was the court case involving transracial adoption. So much to think on. Ng laid it on thick and I’m glad that the topic wasn’t skated over. It made me uncomfortable and I appreciate that.
So if you’re looking for a book where the words are silky smooth goodness. The characters live and dance way after the story ends, and for little fires , this book is for you.
I didn’t mean to make this whole thread into a book review, but it had to be said. As for me I’m coming out of a little writing slump. I’m so close to finishing this draft and then revising it to make it the best that it can be. This story means a lot to me and I want to do right by it.
Finishing a second full novel is a lot harder than I expected it to be. I found my first manuscript to be easier. My life was a lot different then. I was in school, my responsibilities were lower. I didn’t have an agent then. There wasn’t this sense of ruining a chance to be published. Or not impressing my agent again.
I tend to be hard on myself and hate disappointing people, but I realize there is no formula for how one writes their stories. It’s like having kids. Just because they come from the same mother, doesn’t mean the experience is going to be the same or even easier. That’s okay. I’m working through it.
This book life is not for the faint of heart. A little challenge never hurt nobody though.
Ta ta,
Joy 🙂
Joy Writing 