Heft

By: Liz Moore

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Keith Szarabajka

Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Literary Fiction, 2013

A heartwarming novel about larger-than-life characters and second chances....

Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn’t left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career - if he can untangle himself from his family drama. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel’s mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur’s. After nearly two decades of silence, it is Charlene’s unexpected phone call to Arthur - a plea for help - that jostles them into action. Through Arthur and Kel’s own quirky and lovable voices, Heft tells the winning story of two improbable heroes whose sudden connection transforms both their lives. Like Elizabeth McCracken’s The Giant’s House, Heft is a novel about love and family found in the most unexpected places.

©2012 Liz Moore (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A suspenseful, restorative novel from one of our fine young voices.” (Colum McCann, National Book Award–winning author)

“In Heft, Liz Moore creates a cast of vulnerable, lonely misfits that will break your heart and then make it soar. What a terrific novel!” (Ann Hood, best-selling author of The Red Thread)

“This is the real deal, Liz Moore is the real deal - she’s written a novel that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it.” (Russell Banks, Pulitzer Prize finalist)

Good, not great!

I didn’t like the voice of the boy. I didn’t like how slow and whiny the boy Kel was. It’s ridiculous. I did like the overweight mans part. The book felt too slow and dragged out. Sometimes I didn’t want to even finish it.

Superb

Beautifully written and absolutely worth the listen. One reviewer lamented where the book ended wanting the author to give a conclusion. Personally, I loved this. From the start the reader is pulling for the characters. By the end you can imagine they will be okay. That it isn’t all sewn up is like life. You never know what’s going to happen, but you take a chance because if you don’t…

Mesmerizing Performance

I haven't been so affected by a book in a very long time. I cried when it was over. I chose this book based on a review by a reader I admire; I'm sure glad I did. The narrator who is Arthur's voice did a wonderful, poignant, moving performance. He made Arthur become a real person to me. I can't explain how wonderful this character is on all levels.

There is no sex or violence, but a sweet suspense builds over the unfolding of the story. I wanted to skip ahead to see if I was right about the outcome. I wasn't.

It isn't a perfect book. Yolanda is a bit of a stereotype, yet I looked past it on the strength of Arthur's character. Kel's character is a little heartbreaking as time passes, but hope is always there. The three stories weave together beautifully and Ms. Moore keeps it interesting and believable.

I wish I could meet Arthur. Buy the book so you can fall in love too.

This would be a great book for a high school literature class.

The Weight We Carry

I'm a little late to the party, reading this three years after original publication. It is one of those rare sale purchases where I feel like offering to pay full price. Arthur is morbidly obese and reclusive. Given the title, I assume this will be an in-depth character study into his psyche, but it gets even better when we're introduced to another narrator complete with interesting backstory and of course the two cross paths. I don't want to give away anything. It's a well thought out book with intense character development and attention to detail. As with all good titles, "Heft" has myriad meanings to be taken from the themes and characters. Fantastic.

WEIGHT

For me, the term “heft” implies recognizing weight because of trying to lift something, whereas “weight” carries the connotation of pressing down. For a major portion of this story, I just felt the weight – of depression, of inertia, of secrets and lies, and of time wasted letting opportunities pass by, especially waiting for rescue to come from outside rather than from within. It would be easy to allow the weighty stories of Arthur and Kel to become depressing, and indeed I became frustrated with both of them for their self-destructive behaviors, particularly when they told trivial and unnecessary untruths that kept them painted into their corners, isolated from those trying to make contact. I assumed from the story summary that Arthur’s and Kel’s stories would converge at some point, but it was a very long journey before the corner was turned, and some reviewers were apparently unhappy with the ending. I’m ok with it though, because the resolution was where I finally sensed the lift of “Heft”. It was worth working through the hard times to get there, for the characters and for me.

A word about the narration: I felt that the readers might have been instructed to speak way too slowly. Arthur’s voice begins the story, and fairly quickly I felt that the very slow pace of the reading was lulling me into the feeling of sinking to the bottom of the ocean. So I did something I’ve never done before – I bumped up the speed of my player. I intended to only speed up for Arthur, but when Kel started, he also spoke very slowly, so I speeded him up too. It worked. While clearly fast paced, both readers remained expressive without chipmunk voices. Perhaps a slow reading was intended to convey the depression of their lives, but the author’s words did that sufficiently without artifice. Had to downgrade the performance because of this, which is too bad, because Arthur’s voice in particular was very good and would have been excellent if read at a normal pace.

Weighty, Worthy

Exceptionally well read by both readers. I loved all the characters. Difficult, weighty subjects gracefully, tenderly addressed.

Loved the characters, loved the book.

What did you love best about Heft?

What I loved best about Heft was that I felt like I was living the main character's life. The author was able to write the book in a manner that allowed me to feel that I was on the inside of his mind, understanding his motives and choices. He was such an interesting, brilliant, gentle man while at the same time he was trapped within himself and within his home.

What other book might you compare Heft to and why?

I suppose that Heft reminded me of Anne Tyler novels, like "Accidental Tourist" perhaps. Unbelievable character development. The reader gets to live the life of another.

What does Kirby Heyborne and Keith Szarabajka bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The reading of Heft was brilliant. The story telling with two different voices allowed me to more fully live the lives of the two main characters whose ages were vastly separated.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book did not make me laugh or cry but did make me feel deeply the importance of development of friendships and the value of creating one's own family of friends as opposed to a birth family. This book allowed me to observe the protagonist's great ability to find love and acceptance of himself and of others.

Any additional comments?

Loved it.

Forced to Think

What did you love best about Heft?

The two perspectives and the way they interact.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Heft?

When a shut-in allows another person in his house for the first time in years.

Which scene was your favorite?

Kell's girlfriend gets angry at him, for a reason that makes sense to her and which is barely on his radar.

If you could take any character from Heft out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would take the whole damn cast, even Trevor, because I feel connected to them. I know their flaws and I like them anyway.

Truly Amazing Audiobook

This audiobook was perfection. The story was extremely interesting, and the narration was ideal. The performances were spot on and I cannot imagine the characters being portrayed in any other way. This is a book that is truly a joy to hear read aloud. The pace is fantastic and the story remains interesting from beginning to end.

Surprise

I had never heard of this book but really enjoyed it. It held me from the first page (or minutes?). Only downside is that I hope there is a sequel because it ended a bit abruptly, although you can imagine what would happen next. In other words, not a cliff hanger but I would really like to spend more time with the characters.