"Thomas writes like an angel... Her prose is carefully considered, troubled, alert to the texture of experience... singular, thoughtful writing that makes the world seem strange." — Globe and Mail — Globe and Mail
"A stunning prairie novel... The dialogue between characters blends emotions and words in an alchemy of tension... If Joan Thomas is an unknown name to you, that's about to change." — Winnipeg Free Press
"Thomas's finely nuanced sensibility variously evokes Austen, Alice Munro, and Richard B. Wright. Most first-time novelists strain for the gold ring; Joan Thomas grabs it effortlessly in this wonderful book." — Quill & Quire
"Like the man in the whirlwind, the reader of this fine novel is snatched away, deposited in a different place — and profoundly changed by the experience." — Literary Review of Canada
"Thomas's novel is a beautifully described and carefully detailed intersection of competing landscapes. ... Precise, complex, and elegant, Reading by Lightning flashes with wit and insight and illuminates our understanding of what it means to be a sojourner in all the familiar places." — Prairie Fire Magazine
"The book is destined to be classic of Canadian Prairie Literature. With writing as fresh and as beautiful as a Prairie landscape, Joan Thomas weaves a tale of mythical proportions." — Blog Business World
"Most first-time novelists strain for the gold ring; Joan Thomas grabs it effortlessly in this wonderful book." — Quill & Quire starred review
"Breathtakingly good." — Nikki Gemmell
"Joan Thomas's writing is so precise, so surprising, that on any given page you might stop, only to read the words again slowly." — Kristen Den Hartog
"We experience this writing with our noses and ears and eyes and fingertips." — Lisa Moore
"A compelling story burnished by spare and powerful writing. This is a fabulous novel, full of grace and delicious discovery, haunted by the flavour of memory and the prairies in World War II." — Amazon.ca First Novel Award jury, 2009
"Lily Piper's search for home — a place where life can be at once familiar and momentous — is utterly absorbing, told with consummate grace." — Beth Powning
"In fresh, exhilarating, masterful prose, Joan Thomas's novel explores the question of belonging. The wit, the wisdom and the quality and generosity of psychological insight make Reading by Lightning the unanimous selection of the judges." — Commonwealth Writers Prize jury, 2009
