Heat and Light

Like other readers, I live in an area of Pennsylvania that has been beset by gas drilling. Close enough to a drill pad to have been offered a lease, I can affirm that Haigh’s description of truck traffic, noise, klieg lights, and more is spot on. Her characterization of what motivates people to sign leases seems accurate, but many people don’t sign leases, and the drilling happens anyway. Townships, counties, and state agencies want the impact fees that come with drilling, and enough people are enticed by the payouts to make it happen.I appreciated the historical tidbits about energy development in Pennsylvania. I also found the details about the drilling process and mineral liens fascinating. The description of the Three Mile Island meltdown seemed a little out of place, but perhaps it was intended as another great example of how government has failed miserably to protect public health and safety.In the end, I really liked this book. I think the characters are well-drawn, if a little bleak, and the author conveys a lot of information through their voices. The ending is perfect. Spoiler Alert!The price of natural gas plummets, and drilling ceases. The hypocrite activist takes credit.

Enjoyed this novel for the most part. I've lived in Pennsylvania all my life and my hometown has been affected by natural gas drilling, so I liked the small-town PA characters, especially Darrin, Rich and Mack. Didn't exactly "like" Shelby, but given that I know enough people like her, I felt as though she was very realistic. The book could have done without the backgrounds/perspectives of the gas drilling executives...they weren't very three-dimensional and seemed more like token characters than anything else. The whole section about the pastor and his wife and the Three Mile Island disaster could have been cut entirely...did not see the reason for its inclusion, except maybe to drive home the point that the quest for energy has nearly destroyed Pennsylvania at various times throughout history?Some parts did not ring especially true to me, such as how one rural PA character walks into a Walmart and thinks to himself how he's joined some kind of impoverished, white trash club he didn't want to join. I don't think most people, particularly those who are struggling to get by and are barely treading water in their daily lives, think that way. More likely, they just go there because it's cheap and convenient, buy their stuff, and go home without analyzing their actions too much. It's almost as though some other character's perspective (or the author's?) intruded there for a moment.However, with small exceptions like the one mentioned above, this was a very well-written, true-to-life story. The dialogue and the thought processes of the characters enhanced the story a great deal, and effectively highlighted the lost hope/broken dreams theme. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the human side of this important issue.

Heat & Light gives a believable portrayal of what fracking might do to a small town. Four of the main characters (Rena, Mack, Rich and Shelby) are well developed and the impact of the fracking on their lives is used for dramatic effect. But I felt that several of the secondary characters were too superficial and not needed for the story. Pastor Jess should be central to the plot, but I found myself thinking that she did not seem realistic as a pastor and that she would probably not have attracted even a small following. Her congregation was inherited from her late husband Wes, and he was presented as so immature and ineffectual that it seemed even less likely he could have been a pastor. Some chapters were devoted to flashbacks of Wes and Jess as children living near Three Mile Island, and I just didn't feel much relevance from this, other than the general theme of environmental pollution from energy development. There were several other characters who might have been eliminated altogether without hurting the story much - Kip, Darren, Gia, Amy, Marty. It seemed as if the author meant to write a more complex novel and sketched out several characters that were never fully brought into the narrative. I did find Heat & Light very readable and it brought home the problems of fracking and the fragility of a small community. I liked it well enough that I will seek out other works by Jennifer Haigh.

I live on the edge of the fracking area of Northeast PA and in the middle of the Anthracite coal region and was curious about how an author would capture what the individuals, communities and region have been dealing with for decades and generations. Jennifer Haight nails it. Her perfect selection of words completely captured the experience from multiple viewpoints with reality at its core. Her variety of major players adds interesting dimensions to the plot yet touches on the common types of individuals and their attitudes I see in my daily life in this region. If you want to understand the how and why of rural PA and the dilemma its residents face as we sit on top of the country's most valuable resources to fuel the Industrial Revolution - the high tech demands of charging phones and now heating homes with cheaper alternatives - alleviating the dependence on coal or oil - her novel captures it beautifully - something that is often seen as 'dirty'.My only reason for not giving it a 5 - is that I would've enjoyed it even more if it was even more detailed and longer - being an O'Hara fan -I tend to want to 'fall in love' with characters.For those curious about this region of the country I would also recommend reading any of Tami O'Dell's novels.I will be reading Jennifer's other work - her quality of writing is remarkable.

Well written, good depiction of small communities potentially dealing with fracking and different family experiences. Interesting description of the energy business ups and downs. brings in various contemporary themes such as substance abuse gay relationships etc. Worth reading.