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)

Slow beginning, worth the wait

After a rough start, I really liked this and am glad I stuck it out. Reminded me some of A Man Called Ove. Good narration.

Amazing book. Very insightful. Please do a sequel

I am pretty picky about books. So many of them are formula books with the same old themes. I found this book very original and refreshing. I could hardly put it down. The author showed amazing character development and imagination. Perhaps all of us have felt deep moments of deep loneliness and isolation,and other moments of hope and deep connection, but this author captured these feelings in a way that very few books do. this is a gifted author who was able to bring me to tears ands feelings of joy.

Depressing

Depressing story and people. Difficult to listen to because these characters are so depressed and may never find happiness.

New Life for Old

Arthur and Mel couldn't be more different.Arthur is a shut in who weighs at least 550 pounds while. Kel is a poor kid at a rich school who gets by on his social charms. The only thing they have in common is Charlene, Arthur's former student and Kel's mother who holds bringing her most inspiring teacher and her son together will help them all to a better life. Poignant and funny this unusual novel will give you good for thought and a deep sense of the joy of life.

Character Development is Stellar.

The stories told by the two main characters of this book are breathtaking. As I finish listening, I know I will miss them, and the people in their daily lives.

A total winner.

What a great book! You really get to know the lives of the characters and feel like your right in it with them. It's honest and raw and comforting all of the same time. I have to say though the end kind of ruined me.

Kept me interested

This is the story of a recluse who opens his door and finds relationships he never thought possible for him. The author succeeded in creating unique and interesting characters and the narrator did a good job of portraying them. The story was enough to keep me listening and I didn't find myself wishing for it to end sooner than it did like I have with other selections in the past. Overall I would say it was solidly OK.

Very readable, but sad.

What did you love best about Heft?

The characters were really fleshed out and real, but so melancholy. So many missed opportunities for each of them. They could have changed each other's lives but didn't have the courage.

What did you like best about this story?

I was interested enough in what was going to happen next that I was drawn back to listen when I had other things to do. But I wished someone got their happiness in the end.

Loved it!

I highly recommend this book. I enjoyed the story very much. The narration was very good.

Makes you remember why you like to read

I had been having a hard time finding a book in my normal genre so I decided to explore fiction and found this one. Way off the normal path my books take and I am so glad I did. I think I had forgotten how to listen to a simple story and enjoy it. How we don't need all the plot twists,evil seeds and action to make it good. Just like other reviewers, I fell in love with the characters and the narrators did such a wonderful job with them I cannot imagine anyone not liking this book. I am not going to repeat what the majority have already said. Read other reviews if you want more in depth. I'm just going to say.. even if this isn't what you are used to listening to.. if you are looking for something new or a change of pace or even waiting for the next in your series to come out..listen to Heft... it makes us remember why we like books/audiobooks.