'Heat & Light' by Jennifer Haigh
Would you like to read a book about fracking?
You probably don't. The subject has been fought over in the news, making it almost
That's what makes Jennifer Haigh's "Heat & Light" so interesting. It is, on the surface, a book about fracking and the controversies that come with it. Yet, it's beyond fracking too. You could almost change the topic to any other item that challenges a community -- water issues from Flint, coal ash dumps in North Carolina -- and the heart of the story remains.
Fracking is in the story, but it's not a character of the story. It's a catalyst to see how people react under pressure.
I read this book as part of the Books Book Club at Park Road Books in the Park Road Shopping Center in Charlotte. Part of the discussion surrounded the many characters that Haigh employs to convey all sides of the issue.
From the group, the two critiques of Ms. Haigh's book were too many characters and too many shifts in time. The story is set in the recent past in a fictional town in western Pennsylvania that is being targeted by fracking companies. The plot meanders through the lives of several characters who either chose to or refused to sign the land leases for the fracking companies, and how the drilling affected them either way. It touches on relationships strained, drug abuse and small town politics. Even if you don't agree with Ms. Haigh's characters -- like Rich Devlin who signed his lease without hesitation -- you find yourself empathizing with their plight. Ms. Haigh sculpts her characters from the written word into almost living humans.
Her book is dense. It's not a quick read that you will power through in a Saturday afternoon. It also lingers with me. Yes, I'm aware that the characters are fictional, but how many Richs and Shelbys, Macks and Renas -- and even Hercs -- are making similar decisions in our country?
My biggest takeaway was that while these topics may dominate our headlines, it's the people who live with it every day that are forgotten as we spin off onto the next national subject. We want the now-now-now, and then struggle to handle the consequences of our short-sighted thinking is the theme conveyed by Ms. Haigh's book.
Final Page: I don't have a rating system for the book, but I recommend it. The club suggested that this was one of Ms. Haigh's stronger books. It explores a topic you may have heard about from the news and brings it down to your local level.
Book Review: ‘Heat & Light’ explores fracking