The character-centric writer: Celeste Ng

Author Celeste Ng’s next book tackles motherhood, race and rules

I’m wedged between aisles of books at the Harvard Bookstore on a rainy Tuesday in October, clutching the hardcover of Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng’s latest. It has only been a week since I finished Everything I Never Told You, the author’s 2014 award-winning debut; wondering why I hadn’t done it sooner. It’s the kind of sensitive, layered story, with nuanced writing that I’ve always aspired to write. So, it is wonderful that I’m here, in a city I haven’t even completed two months in, listening to a writer I know will impact my future writing.

Author Celeste Ng(Kevin Day Photography)

Celeste Ng’s new book Little Fires Everywhere.

Celeste chose to set her book in the late 90s because it was a time more conducive to secrets