Heat Lightning

by Leah Hager Cohen

Set in a small town, Heat Lightning chronicles a summer in the life of two sisters who lost their parents in a boating accident as babies and have been raised by their aunt ever since. Told from the point of view of Mole, 11 years old, it traces the steady unraveling of the mythology that she and her 12-year-old sister have created to explain their parents' life and death. Their aunt's reluctance to discuss the tragedy in anything more than the most cryptic, fragmented terms has given rise to secret fantasies and has unified the sisters in their devoted quest for buried truths. But this summer will be different, as a subtle transformation and the intercession of strangers disturbs the delicate tripartite balance between the two sisters and their aunt. In moving, sensual prose, Cohen captures perfectly the powerful alchemical transaction through which childhood is transformed into adolescence -- and lives are forever altered.

Genres: Fiction

326 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Leah Hager Cohen has written four non-fiction books, including Train Go Sorry and Glass, Paper, Beans, and four novels, including House Lights and The Grief of Others.

She serves as the Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross, and teaches in the Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Lesley University. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review.

Reviews

[Sasha Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this, especially the childhood fascination and inquiry told from a removed, sophisticated adult retelling. There were so many beautiful lines that just made me pause and slow down. The ending was a bit much but it didn’t ruin the book for me.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was slow, I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. And the thoughts of Mole seemed immature yet too mature at the same time so it was confusing to listen to her.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

the novel that tried to be a poem

[Dela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is about two sisters who's parents died trying to save rescue boaters during a storm, who are now adopted by their aunt. Their aunt never told Mole and Tilly the whole and real story of what happened when their parents died, so now the kids are set to make up their story of what they thing happened to their parents at their death. Their aunt Hy moves and they end up living with a married couple that have four kids. They learn that the people they are living with are crazy and, the one of the married couples kids ends up taking Tilly as her friend and Mole feels alone. The story is basically that the two sister never really find out about their parents, so they move on and think about their future.

I did and didn't like the book because, it got boring until the middle of the book. I think the sisters stuck more with trying to figure out what happened to their parents when they died because their aunt didn't tell them. At the end of the book I think the sisters learned that they probably wouldn't know what happened to their parents so they start to think about their future and get on with their life. The book was okay and I probably wouldn't read it again just because it also isn't something i would like to read. I think people who like reading about the past and think about the future would like to read this book.

[Rosalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reason for Reading_picked it from my bedside collection
From_Some thrift store
Kept me entertained all day while recuperating from the flu. I was always waiting uneasily for something bad to happen. Cohen did a good job of piercing preadolescence and adolescence in thought and deed. The girls, Mole and Tilly vacillated between maturity and lack of maturity as they ventured through a summer of questions and answers and growing up.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Cohen's first novel -- I love her non-fiction and her other two two, later, novels, but this wasn't as engaging for me. Her prose is beautiful, and given to unusual metaphors and turns of phrase that shake the reader awake. The plot, however, isn't as compelling as her later two works.

[Heidi Hehnly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is really nicely done. The story of the main characters youth was beautiful and disturbing to follow. The reason why I gave it two stars is the story was slow at times and I wanted to know more about the parents and the relationship with the kids aunt.

[Jonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was as sexy as the name. I read through this book more quickly than I wanted to. It's a really great read, but be ready for a cold shower afterwards!

[Jackie Simons]

Read 11/99

[Laurel Deloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book - bad ending. Growing up in the South

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the characters and setting in this coming-of-age book.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful writing but slowwwwww

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5