Sometimes there’s a book that “everyone” is reading that doesn’t initially appeal to me. Such was the case last fall with Little Fires Everywhere.

I remember spotting this book when playing book detective at jury duty. But I just kept hearing more and more about this book, and I finally decided to read it. And it turned out to be a good book to post about on Mother’s Day!

“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 following rules can avert disaster.”

At the heart of the book (after a reader is introduced to the newcomers to town, Mia and her daughter Pearl who rent a house owned by the Richardsons) is a custody battle when a well-meaning family tries to adopt a Chinese baby.

Among the ideas this book explores is what makes someone a mother? Is it biology or love?

There are not easy answers to some of these questions and it reminded me of another book  about motherhood where I felt strongly for both sides.

We look to rules to decide things…

“But the problem with rules, he reflected, was that the implied a right way and a wrong way to do things. When, in fact, most of the time there were simply ways, none of them quite wrong or quite right, and nothing to tell you for sure which side of the line you stood on.”

There are several storylines of motherhood in this book though it also covers high-school drama, the dynamics of a town, and is a tribute to art, especially photography.

If you, like me, put off reading this book, I recommend you pick it up soon. It was enjoyable, well-written, and thought provoking.

 

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