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Our Missing Hearts
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reesesbookclub -
“Above all, it’s a story about people pushing back on the wrong we see in the world, and keeping a sense of shared humanity alive in the dark, cynical, and isolating times.”
In the #ReesesBookClub App, author @pronounced_ing shares how current events shaped her writing process as she dealt with her own uncertainties about the future.
Visit our link in bio to get a copy of #OurMissingHearts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjQipFtLI...
Dear Reader: Can We Actually Make a Difference? --> https://reesesbookclub.com/app/R1PfvE...
Celeste Ng Discusses Her Latest Novel, "Our Missing Hearts," And Her Approach To Navigating A Near-Future World That's Not Completely Unlike Our Ownhttps://www.google.com/amp/s/sports.y...
On Writing Our Missing Hearts
💛Dear Reader,
I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of art these days. As rights are rolled back everywhere, and hate and bigotry continue to rise, I keep wondering: does art even matter? But the answer I keep coming back to is yes. Poems, novels, paintings, performances—they hit us square in the emotions and shape us.
They show us both what is, and what could be possible. They remind us what we’re working for. In short, they remind us of our humanity. Art alone can’t change the world, but maybe it can help us do so. That’s one of the things I realized I was writing about in this book, and what I hope it will do in the real world, too.
Thank you for reading Our Missing Hearts.
— Celeste Ng
On Celeste Ng's Shelves
📚🐛We love asking authors what they're reading and Celeste didn't disappoint! Here are five of her favorite recent reads that we can't wait to dive into. And if you haven't read Little Fires Everywhere yet, consider this a sign to do so.
1. Hell of a Book
2. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
3. Take My Hand
4. A Map for the Missing
5. Woman of Light
Book Recs: Celeste Ng Shares Books on Her Bookshelf --> https://reesesbookclub.com/app/jLkysH...
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng review – fear and loathing in the USA political crisis leads to racism and violence in a pertinent and impressive new novel from the author of Little Fires Everywhere
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theg...
ST. ANN & THE HOLY TRINITY CHURCH - Celeste Ng: Our Missing Hearts w/ Emma Straub
Live discussion from Oct 4th
https://youtu.be/NFmC4QMhk58
Race in America
Best-selling author Celeste Ng on new novel and opening doors
By Washington Post Live
https://www.washingtonpost.com/washin...
1. Bird's mother is a poet and her words spark a revolution - even if that's not the intent in which they were written. Is there a time when something you've said or written have been interpreted differently than you intended? What did you lose? What did you gain?
2. The novel takes place in a world that “isn’t exactly our world, but it isn’t not ours, either,” writes Ng in the Author’s Note (327). What elements of the novel’s setting align with your understanding and experience of the events of the 21st century thus far? How close do you think we are to a society like that described in the novel?
3. The school did not like the name Bird, they said it wasn't a real name. Do you have any friends, or children, that have an uncommon name that's been met with some pushback too? How did you handle the situation? Why do you think the school had such an issue with his name being Bird?
4. There are two epigraphs that open the book --- one (real) poem by Anna Akhmatova, and one (fictional) excerpt from PACT literature. How does their juxtaposition set up the invitation to compare reality and imagination, and see our present moment through a historical lens as well as the one devised by Ng for the novel?
5. When bird's mother sends him a letter it's just a page of drawings. Why would she communicate with him that way after all those years apart? What was she trying to tell him?The publisher contracted an artist to recreate the letter Bird's mom sends him. Here is what they created:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F1Ql...
6. Bird's father used to be a linguistic professor, spoke multiple languages and loved words. Now his father doesn't talk much about words. How has PACT changed their language? How has censorship effected their words?
7. The connection between literature and protest is powerful in the novel --- from the proliferation and censorship of Margaret's poetry to the network of librarians caring for the relocated children. Why do you think this form of communication is so resilient against forces and events as big as the Crisis and PACT? How does it inspire individuals and groups in the novel to act?
8. Ethan is originally hired at the university as a linguistics professor, and his obsession with words seeps into his daily habits, such as reading from the dictionary: "His father's oldest habit: taking words apart like old clocks to show the gears still ticking inside" (18). How does sharing this love of language help Bird in his quest, and ultimately reconnect their family, albeit indirectly, by the end of the novel?
9. Both Bird and Sadie struggle with missing parents, yet their approach to seeking a deeper understanding of their past is vastly different. What about their personalities guide their respective strategies, and why do you think their friendship is so strong?
10. Both Bird and his father blame his mother for the things in their life they can't get back. Is she really the root of the problem, or is it something else? If it's something else, what is to blame?
11. During the Crisis, disruptions happened all the time, people out of work, shortages, riots in the streets, mobs looting stores - "a nation paralyzed in the turmoil". What are some similarities and differences between the Crisis in the book and the social/political climate we've gone through over the past several years?
12. Margaret and Domi's parting during the Crisis is devastating to them both. Why are they able to restore their friendship once Margaret returns seeking help? What do each of them gain by working together on Margaret?s plan, even beyond the emotional healing of their split?
Lindsey, know I missed this discussion, but thanks for posting Celeste Ng’s 5 favorite recent books. I have only read Take My Hand which was an incredible and important book. The 4 others I have on my TBR. Thank you 😊
Kristine (Trying to Get Back to Reading) wrote: "Lindsey, know I missed this discussion, but thanks for posting Celeste Ng’s 5 favorite recent books. I have only read Take My Hand which was an incredible and important book. The 4 ..."Your welcome. 😊 I just realized I didnt post the rest of the discussion questions. Lol
Lindsey, No problem. Thanks for putting the link to The Ending. That is the part of the book I had the most trouble with and was glad to read an opinion on it.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Take My Hand (other topics)Take My Hand (other topics)
Hell of a Book (other topics)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (other topics)
Take My Hand (other topics)
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Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.
Our Missing Hearts
Celeste Ng