Wilson’s tale of fire children is entertaining and psychologically astute. Lillian is 28 and her life is a waste. She has no friends, and she has no serious job. She doesn’t have a family worth speaking of. Then she gets a call from her old college roommate Madison. Madison is now married to a wealthy Tennessee senator and has a small boy, Tim. They live in a huge mansion with live-in workers. He has two other children from a former marriage. They are twins, 10 years old, Bessie and Roland. These are the fire children — they start blazing when they become agitated, without any ill effects to themselves. Lillian gets the job of looking after them for a summer. As soon as she meets them she forms a fierce commitment to making sure she does her job well, because of all they have been through. 

The first scene where Lillian meets the twins is masterfully done. We see the anger and distrust of the children as a result of how many adults have let them down in the past, and Lillian’s strength in winning their tentative trust. It is both moving and funny. There are other great scenes where truth gets told with wisecracks. The twins are both young for their age and also prematurely wise. Most of the adults are unreliable and scheming, and a few are very troubled. 

The book goes quickly, 6.5 hours in audiobook. The basic ideas of the book are that caring provides meaning and purpose, and that politicians are corrupt but might be redeemable. It’s a winning combination. The charm of the book is in the characters of Lillian and the twins, and the drama of whether she will be able to say goodbye to them when her job is over. 

Christian Perring is editor of Metapsychology Online.

Categories: Fiction

Keywords: fiction