And his absent mother, Margaret, who abandoned the family when he was eight, is widely regarded as a traitor to the new regime. Half Asian on his mother’s side, and therefore already suspect, he’s a quirky, sensitive child who insists on being called Bird, a nickname of his own invention. Demoted from his academic post to working as a librarian, he advocates keeping quiet and carrying on. Ethan is an affable, bookish man, but like almost everyone else, he’s unwilling to challenge the forces of reaction. Ng suggests that these peaceful but thought-provoking measures in the long run may be more far-reaching and cost-effective than mass rallies that disrupt daily activities and compromise public safety.Amid this creeping oppression, in Cambridge, Massachusetts – once a bastion of liberal tolerance and academic excellence – 12-year-old Noah is growing up under the care of his dad, Ethan. Performance art, as a form of nonviolent protest, is another example of 'keeping to the small.' While this type of protest takes place in public, passersby are affected privately, 'forcing them to take note, them days and weeks later, knotting a tangle in their chest.' Similarly, Margaret meticulously records stories told by parents whose children have been taken from them under PACT. For example, the author describes how the poet Anna Akhmatova memorized her poetry and transmitted it orally to trusted friends to evade Stalin's censorship.

The novel affirms Ng's conviction that aesthetic means can be employed effectively to resist oppression.

It also echoes 'The Boy Who Drew Cats,' a Japanese folktale about a boy who, by drawing cats on the wall of a monster's lair and 'keeping to the small,' succeeds in killing the monster, a giant rat.Īuthor Interviews A Mother And Daughter Upset Suburban Status Quo In 'Little Fires Everywhere' Bird's quest, a bus trip from Cambridge, Mass., to New York City, evokes the Greek myth of Orpheus, in which the hero must travel to the underworld to find his beloved. Thanks to its seamless structure, Our Missing Hearts resembles a box of myths transmuting into fresh, symbiotic insights when converged. Subject to state surveillance, Ethan and Bird must conform to the safe code of conduct as prescribed by PACT (The Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act). Code Switch 'Everything I Never Told You' Exposed In Biracial Family's Lossīird's best friend Sadie thinks Margaret is the leader of an underground resistance movement, which manifests itself in frequent, startling acts: intersections painted blood-red giant red hearts, made by yarns and entwined with ghostly dolls, which sway from trees in parks.īird's father, Ethan, forbids his son to mention Margaret's name to anyone.

Missing hearts celeste ng