As an act of charity, superiority, or perhaps just to keep an eye on her, Mrs. Richardson's seemingly perfect life has cracks exposed by the relationships that develop between her children and Mia and Pearl. The story in the novel and the miniseries centers on the intersection of the Richardsons and the Warrens. When Mia and Pearl move to the idyllic community of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Mia promises her daughter that, this time, they can stay. Spoiler alert: A photographer and art school dropout, Mia is forced to live a life looking over her shoulder after deciding to keep her daughter, Pearl, whom the reader/viewer later learns was commissioned as a surrogate by a wealthy couple who could not have children of their own. Richardson's new tenant, Mia Warren (played by Kerry Washington), lives a life that is spontaneous and at times reckless. Richardson (played by Reese Witherspoon in the miniseries), and her specific plans for her four children: Trip, Lexie, Moody, and Izzy. This motto matches the planned life of Elena Richardson, who is referred to as Mrs. The city's motto was, “Most communities just happen the best are planned” (p 10).

A helpful chart from the city categorized every home as a Tudor, English, or French style and laid out the appropriate colors for architects and homeowners alike” (p 9). There were rules, many rules about what you could and could not do …. Life in Shaker Heights was further described in the first chapter: “Shaker Heights was like that.

Celeste Ng, the author who grew up in Shaker Heights, quoted an article called “The Good Life in Shaker Heights” from the March 1963 issue of Cosmopolitan. The town of Shaker Heights serves as one of the characters, more so in the novel than in the miniseries. The story begins and ends with the same scene: small fires that were mysteriously set in a large, seemingly happy household in Shaker Heights, a unique suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1990s. Original Release Date on Hulu: March 18, 2020.Īs the title suggests, Little Fires Everywhere has literal and figurative connotations.

Directed by Lynn Shelton, Michael Weaver, and Nzingha Stewart. Miniseries written by Liz Tigelaar, Nancy Won, Raamla Mohamed, et al.

Little fires everywhere themes