My mother is deeply pragmatic by nature. Perhaps you had to be, as an immigrant. You made do. Celeste Ng Read Quote
As the Trump administration takes office – and we see acts of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination around the country – ask yourself, ‘What’s important to me? What do I care about? What have I benefitted from that I want to pay forward?’ Then look for ways to spread help and hope. Celeste Ng Read Quote
For me, any story I tackle begins with the human relationships and not the plot. Celeste Ng Read Quote
I wrote ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ and sold the book in 2015, still the Obama years. The possibility of a Trump presidency was not on my radar. Celeste Ng Read Quote
I’m ashamed to admit that I very seldom read poetry, even though many of my friends are poets. Celeste Ng Read Quote
I’m really interested in how we understand each other – and whether we can understand each other. Celeste Ng Read Quote
My mother wrote a teen column for the South China Morning Post in the 1950s when she was growing up in Hong Kong. Her name was Lily Mark, but she sometimes wrote under her confirmation name, Margaret Mark. That was how she met my father. Celeste Ng Read Quote
Now that I have a child of my own, I’m in awe of – and deeply grateful for – the time my parents spent in taking me to bookstores. Celeste Ng Read Quote
I wanted to write a book about people who have the best intentions and think – really, truly think – that they’re doing the right thing. And then they realize that when those ideals come knocking at their windowsill, a lot of times they will suddenly disavow those ideals. Celeste Ng Read Quote
It’s incredibly rewarding to have people come up to me at readings and say, ‘I’m not Chinese, but this is the relationship I have with my mother.’ Or say, ‘Your book made me think a lot about my parents, and I’ve decided to sign up for counseling.’ That is mind-boggling. Celeste Ng Read Quote
