PositiveMiami HeraldIn his impressionistic portrait of Shostakovich, the man and the artist, Barnes balances sympathy with a tough-minded clarity, the more potent for being presented via the composer’s own point of view...This is likely a minor novel in the Barnes oeuvre, but what can be more ambitious than a writer who seeks to capture the inner life of another great artist?
Jennifer Haigh
MixedThe Miami Herald Each cast member, principle and secondary, is distinctive and fully rounded. Cutting from one point of view to another, with each chapter, she manages to generate narrative drive — you want to know what happens next. She’s done impeccable research, writing with authority about natural gas extraction and the operation of a nuclear power plant. Indeed, Haigh does so much so well, it is a puzzle that Heat & Light has so little impact...Therein lies the novel’s lack of punch. Haigh fails to tighten her grip on any part of the story. Although a proficient writer, Haigh is not a stylist. She seldom squeezes the language. Having missed the chance to tighten focus midway through, the story wisps away as it approaches the conclusion, like dry ice turning to vapor.
A. Igoni Barrett
PositiveThe Miami HeraldBlackass, I’m happy to say, has a rare quality shared only by the best of novels. It teaches you how to read it, something I needed 30 or 40 pages to catch on to. Up till then, the story of an ambitious Nigerian waking up to discover that he has turned white seemed burdened by its all-too-obvious symbolism, its all-too-obvious indictment of colonialism, its all-too-obvious evocation of Kafka.
