Little Fires Everywhere: Who Did It Better?

Written by Carli Varble

It’s the age-old debate, do you prefer the miniseries or the book? Personally, I’m usually on team book. I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time dwelling on things that were changed for show, and I definitely spend an annoying amount of time talking about it to people who don’t really care. Cut to me in 2012 absolutely raging about how Effie Trinket said hat instead of buttons, my dad about ready to leave me at the movies. That being said, after watching the show and reading the novel Little Fires Everywhere, I am actually pretty on the fence of which I like more. So, I decided to write up a little comparison for myself, and for those of you who are also deeply invested in this debate. There will be spoilers ahead! You have been warned.

I think the main aspect that made me want to write about this was the relationship between Elena and Izzy. I watched the show first, and really remember disliking Elena a lot more because of how she treated Izzy. The show implies that Elena, an overwhelmed working mother, didn’t want another child, and that’s why she’s so terrible to Izzy. This made me hate Elena so much more. The fact that Elena was so cruel to Izzy (cutting her out of family pictures, actually telling her she wasn’t wanted) just made her character so much more irredeemable. Not that she isn’t also awful in the book, but the book paints a very different picture.

In the book, Elena’s criticisms of Izzy stem from Izzy being a premature baby with lots of health complications. While it doesn’t justify Elena’s actions, they definitely take on a bit of a different meaning especially with the absence of some of Elena’s crueler actions that are in the show. For this aspect, I am team book.

The next thing I want to talk about is the big blowout between Elena and Mia. If I’m being honest, the book left a lot to be desired. I finished this part of the book, and I was a little disappointed. For me, the fallout from the argument in the show really helped me see why Mia decided to leave Shaker Heights, but the argument in the book made me wonder why Mia—no nonsense, doesn’t care about other people’s opinions—decided that she had to leave. Yes, they were renting from the Richardson’s and working for them to cover the rent, but it was established that Mia didn’t need to work for the Richardson’s so why not just find a new apartment? I prefer clearer motivation, which I found in the show and not in the book. Point to team show!

Now I’ve got to address Lexie and Pearl. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I really think the show did Lexie wrong. She wasn’t stellar in the book, but like her mom, she was so much worse in the show. In the show, you miss out on Lexie taking Pearl shopping and the two lending clothes to each other. The book actually shows a friendship between the two rather than Lexie taking advantage of Pearl. Like Elena and Izzy’s relationship, this stems from one event. Book Pearl offers to write Book Lexie’s college admissions essay rather than Cinematic Lexie stealing Cinematic Pearl’s experience for her essay.

These are two drastically different events that show Lexie in two very different lights, which I guess is my big problem with it. Lexie is still not great in the book. She leaves Pearl at a party and uses Pearl’s name at the clinic, but it’s almost like the people behind the show were concerned we wouldn’t dislike the Richardson’s enough and had to make them worse, which brings up a whole other list of questions in my brain that I don’t have the time to cover in this piece. Point to team book for its portrayal of Lexie.

Lastly: that ending. Both the book and the show did great with the ending. Despite knowing the house was going to burn down, I was still pretty amazed with how they got there. There is just something about the plot twist in the show that just makes it slightly better than the book in my opinion. In the book, all signs point to Izzy the whole time. You get to the end and it plays out and you’re pretty satisfied. The show twists this on its head by making you think its Izzy, but it’s actually the other siblings.

I love this plot twist so much because it shows some good sibling solidarity that we don’t really get in the book. The book ends with Izzy leaving because she feels like she’s absolutely alone in the world, but the show ends with her siblings sticking up for her. You get the sense that the siblings have grown closer together rather than further apart which puts me on team miniseries for this aspect.

I have so many more thoughts about the show and the book, but these were the things that stuck out the most to me. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show and reading the book, and definitely recommend both to anyone looking for something to watch or read. Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Review: Little Fires Everywhere

Written by Sam Steelman

Celeste Ng tells a breath-taking story of the war between social classes, the chaos of parenting, the differing opinions centered on morality, with a “love prevails all” message, all in the confinements of a small town. This story forces the reader to look at controversial situations from both perspectives. It provides anyone who reads this book with a widened view as to why people choose the life decisions they do.

In all honesty, it took me a couple tries to be completely immersed in this novel. The first chapter grabs you by the throat. However, the second chapter takes its sweet time setting the scene. I now can understand and appreciate the slow parts of this novel because it was taking necessary time to develop these wonderfully complicated characters. The character progression in this novel is a beautiful experience. Seeing Mrs. Richardson’s complete loss of control and her youngest daughter, Izzy’s, reclamation of her own control is a meticulously written mother-daughter clash.

Mrs. Richardson’s character is intricate and complex, mean-spirited and vile, wrapped in a pretty bow to maintain an upstanding reputation as a small-town reporter stuck in her hometown. She forces herself to believe that staying in Shaker Heights was her plan in order to keep herself from feeling like a bird forever confined to its cage. I personally found Mr. Richardson to not be relevant to the story at all, except for his involvement with the McCulloughs. Other than that, he contributes almost no substance to the story. The Richardson children have their own unique personalities and relationships. However, Mia and Pearl are by far my favorite characters because of their aesthetically pleasing, adventurous lifestyle.

The main character rivalry in this novel is between Mia and Mrs. Richardson. Celeste Ng portrays each character as the other’s complete opposite, leading to a perfect falling out by the end of the novel. Mia is a completely free spirit. She parents Pearl with love and understanding, allowing her to make the mistakes she will learn the most meaningful lessons from. Mia goes wherever she feels inspired to complete her artwork, never staying in one spot for too long. On the other hand, Mrs. Richardson has perfectly structured her life, with a perfect house, perfect husband, perfect job. However, her desire to control her children to force them to follow the upstanding path she envisioned for them results in complete rebellion and resentment. Mrs. Richardson resents herself, and the reader sees this unfold throughout the novel. Mia wraps this up in a passionate confrontation: “‘It terrifies you. That you missed out on something. That you gave up something you didn’t know you wanted.’ A sharp, pitying smile pinched the corners of her lips. ‘What was it? Was it a boy? Was it a vocation? Or was it a whole life?’” (Ng 302).

Overall, I would recommend for everyone to read this book. I would especially recommend it to those with a narrow perspective on life, those who make judgements before thinking about the other party’s situation. Above all, this book, in the words of Celeste Ng, is for “those out on their own paths, setting little fires.”