A review by smallafterall
Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh

4.0

I really wasn't sure I would like this one at the outset, but I trust my friend Megan, and knew from her review it was worth it to check it out. Rural Pennsylvania has always held interest for me, and will even more so beginning later this year. I am so impressed with Haigh's writing after reading this book. She ties together multiple characters and plots in a way that's not distracting or overwritten. I've read a lot of books lately that either try too hard or don't try hard enough to do some interesting things with style, tone, and structure. This one strikes the balance of readability and complexity that never know I'm looking for until I find it again. This is a book about fracking, yes, but it's mostly about all the very different characters involved in the industry and the town it affects. Haigh doesn't paint anyone as a hero or winner here: all are culpable in the effects brought on by the desire to find new ways to make a living from the land.