Little Children (novel)
 | This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (April 2018) |
LC Class | PS3566.E6948 L57 2004 | |
Little Children is a 2004 novel by American author Tom Perrotta that interweaves the dark stories of seven main characters, all of whom live in the same Boston suburb during the middle of a hot summer.
The novel received critical praise, spurring
Plot summary
Sarah, who once considered herself a
Todd is a handsome young father whom the neighborhood women have nicknamed the "Prom King." One of the other mothers dares Sarah: "Five bucks if you get his phone number." While jokingly discussing the bet, Todd and Sarah engage in a kiss that becomes more passionate than the ruse called for, leading to an affair between the two, who "happen" to cross each other at the local pool and bring their children to nap together while they have sex on the living room floor.
Larry is a retired police officer. Three years before, he left the force after shooting a Black teenager brandishing a toy gun at a local mall; the guilt became so unbearable that he collected his pension early. Now his wife has left him and taken their two sons. Larry, who loved his job and refuses to let go of it, is angry that Ronald "Ronnie" McGorvey, a sex offender convicted of exposing himself to children, is allowed to live in his neighborhood, and starts a one-man vendetta to drive him out. Ronnie, for his part, finds himself ostracized by the community, and the one date that his mother forces him to go on is ruined when he gives in to temptation and masturbates while watching children. Larry eventually gets into a shoving match with Ronnie's mother, May, who has a fatal stroke. Bertha, a school crossing guard and May's best friend, takes Ronnie to the hospital, where May has written him a note that reads only "Please, please be a good boy."
Todd's marriage to his gorgeous wife Kathy, a
After Sarah watches Todd win a game for his neighborhood football team, they plan to leave their spouses. As Sarah prepares to leave with her daughter Lucy, Richard calls her from San Diego (where he claimed he was on business) and says that he is leaving her for a porn starlet called "Slutty Kay". Todd, meanwhile, injures himself while attempting a skateboarding trick in front of the teenage skaters, and realizes that he doesn't see a future with Sarah.
Sarah takes Lucy to the local playground late at night while waiting for Todd, but Todd never shows up. Just when she starts to lose hope, Ronald appears, crying over his mother's death. Much to her own surprise, she feels sympathy for him, until he admits that he has given in to his compulsions and killed a girl. Larry suddenly approaches, ready to kill Ronald, but finds it in his heart to offer his condolences on May's death. Sarah just sits, baffled, wondering how she will raise her daughter, whom she feels she has greatly let down.
Reception
Writing for The New York Times, Will Blythe praised the novel, noting that Little Children raises the question of how a writer can be so entertainingly vicious and yet so full of sympathy. Bracingly tender moments stud Perrotta's satire.".[1] Kirkus Reviews described Little Children as "Perrotta's best"[2] novel and further remarked that, "the juxtapositions whereby Perrotta charts his several characters’ interconnected misadventures are handled with masterly authority."[2]
References
- ^ a b Blythe, Will. "All the Children Are Above Average", The New York Times, 2004-03-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ a b "Little Children". Kirkus Reviews. May 20, 2010. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
External links
- "TBR: Inside the List" interview with Perrotta in The New York Times about the minor controversy arising from the use of Pepperidge Farm goldfish on the book's cover.