Book vs. TV Show: Little Fires Everywhere

***Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead***

When you read a book, you envision the universe in your head. Based on the author’s descriptions, you have a vison of what the characters look like and what their world looks like. The author’s words give you such a deep understanding of who the characters are and what drives their actions. When characters come across obstacles, we feel like we know them so well, we can guess how they are going to react before they do. What makes a reader fall in love with a book is their ability to connect to the characters and join in their world.

Of course, an adaptation of a book is not going to be exactly the way you imagined it; it would be unrealistic to expect the adaptation to be an exact retelling of the story. However, a good adaptation shouldn’t make unnecessary changes, and, any changes that it does make, should enhance the story, while still sticking to the heart of what the story is about.

Little Fires Everywhere made a lot of changes from the book to the TV screen. At first, there were just small changes. They changed the car that Mia drove. They slightly changed the first time Pearl met Moody, with Mia spotting him from the window. They added a scene with Moody and Pearl visiting his special spot and then Mia freaking out when she believes that Peral is being brought home by the police. These small changes didn’t take away from the story. In fact, adding the scene when Mia is freaking out gave the audience insight into Mia and Pearl’s background in a way that couldn’t have been translated from page to screen.

As the series continued, there became more and more changes and additional scenes added in. Scenes that I was looking forward to seeing were removed or changed. I was waiting for Pearl to find the photograph of her mother in the art museum and the scene never came. Rather, Mia sold the photograph and Elena ventured to New York City in search of the photograph after reading about the sale in the paper. This change led to exploring Elena’s past, with a boyfriend, who didn’t exist in the book. I felt that many of these changes were completely unnecessary, doing nothing to add to or enhance the original story.

Several of the modifications changed some of the characters’ defining traits. While reading the book, I thought of Mia as a caring and understanding person. But on the show, she seemed stand-offish and cold (the constant sneering by Kerry Washington didn’t help). I was shocked when Mia started telling Lexie off after she had an abortion. The Mia in the book would have never yelled at a girl who was in trouble and so clearly needed someone to just be there for her. This was a change that took away from the original story.

The biggest and most disappointing change though, was the revelation of who started the fire and the ending. In the book, Izzy needs a fresh start. She sets fire to the house, believing it to be completely empty before taking off, hoping that she can catch up to Mia and Pearl on the road. Unbeknownst to Izzy though, Elena is still in the house. By the time Elena and the rest of the Richardson’s arrive at the apartment, and find the personal collages that Mia has made for each of them, Elena has resolved to not rest until she finds Izzy, because she is her mother and she loves her, no matter what. The ending is hopeful, and you start to have faith that Elena and Izzy can repair their damaged relationship.

In the show, however, the Richardson’s, except for Bill, the father, find Izzy pouring gasoline to set a fire to her bedroom. Elena yells at Izzy, further destroying their already fragile relationship, causing Izzy to flee. Izzy’s siblings, unable to live under their mother’s controlling ways any longer, finish what Izzy started, setting fire to their house, knowing their mother is still inside. After taking the fall for her children, Elena arrive at the apartment, alone, and finds Mia’s model of the town with the feather she had taken from Izzy’s room in an open cage in the center. The feather in the open cage suggests optimism, yet not as bright as the ending of the book.

As a TV show, Little Fires Everywhere was certainly entertaining. But, it was a very disappointing adaptation of a book. I loved the book and had been so excited to see it translated on screen. But with all the changes that were made, the heart of the story was lost. I kept wondering, why even bother making it a TV show if you weren’t going to change so much? And why even change things, when there was nothing even wrong with it to begin with?