Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng has to go in as my favorite book of 2019 so far.

Wow.

This was also my first audiobook of the year and by the end, I was so pleased to have made this the first one, although I wince at following this one up. Jennifer Lim narrated this one and did an excellent job. Every syllable was carried with immense care and for great impact.

The book itself is a little disconcerting with the omniscient POV, but even as I listened to the prose by Ng goes a long way in making it seem effortless as we glide from POV to POV. In some ways, I almost preferred it told this way, especially with how each character is revealed in the narrative.

Essentially, this story is about two families, the Richardsons & the Warrens, but it is also about every family and how our behaviors and misperceptions impact everyone around and how those consequences ripple out. It’s hard to describe what genre this book fits into aside from mainstream fiction, although I’d lean it into a more “literary” category. I want to say more, but honestly, it would just spoil the sheer beauty of the story. Ng has made a perfect puzzle of a narrative.

Little Fires does everything a book is supposed to do and more. Great characters, plot, and thematic substance that you don’t often get in your usual NYT bestseller or even top ten lists anymore. I’ve been a fan of Ng from “Everything I Never Told You” and this only solidifies it.