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Heft  By  cover art

Heft

By: Liz Moore
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Keith Szarabajka
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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)

What listeners say about Heft

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,278
  • 4 Stars
    1,736
  • 3 Stars
    639
  • 2 Stars
    170
  • 1 Stars
    96
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,882
  • 4 Stars
    1,130
  • 3 Stars
    359
  • 2 Stars
    84
  • 1 Stars
    39
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,002
  • 4 Stars
    1,569
  • 3 Stars
    647
  • 2 Stars
    171
  • 1 Stars
    105

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Never fell in love with these characters

The book is a reflection on loneliness as revealed in an older, sedate, world-weary man and his opposite, a young, popular, athletic boy. Like the main characters, the book was a bit overly symmetrical in its story arc and seemed too contrived for my liking. After a while, it begins to feel a bit formulaic with the character telling you all the things they'd like to say and then not saying any of those things at all. I probably would not have noticed these things so much except that I didn't really enjoy the characters much.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story,but one narrator better than the other

What did you love best about Heft?

I loved the story and the psychological aspects behind both of the main characters. I liked the ending as well. I loved how the reader got to know both of the main characters through a linking character whom we never got to know first hand except through the thoughts of the other two characters. Very ingenious.

What other book might you compare Heft to and why?

I would compare it to other books that are character driven rather than action driven. This book has more thought than action, but it never felt slow.

Which character – as performed by Kirby Heyborne and Keith Szarabajka – was your favorite?

The reader who played Arthur Opp (Keith Szarabajka) was fabulous. The reader who played Kell Keller (Kirby Heyborne) sucked, in my opinion. I would have liked to give the performance a 5 for Szarabajka, but had to bring it to a 4 because of Heyborne. I'll tell you why. Heyborne read his part in a sing song voice that you hear so often at author readings. Meaning, he "read" his part rather than "acted" it. I was totally into the story whenever Szarabajka was reading, but was taken out of the story when Heyborne was reading. I tolerated it because the story itself was so compelling. This is the long and short of it: I didn't "feel" Kell Keller through Heyborne. I truly "felt" Arthur Opp through Szarabajka. I think Heyborne could become a better reader if he worked on "being" the character more. It is easy to criticize, I know. I am not an actor, just a reader. I'm just saying how I felt about the narration and hopefully it is constructive criticism for Heyborne and helpful to other readers. My apologies to Heyborne.

Who was the most memorable character of Heft and why?

Arthur Opp and Charlene because of the interesting psychology behind both of their characters.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entranced

Any additional comments?

It is difficult to explain why I loved this story. It is slow, simply told and honest. I think it is that last thing, honesty, that was so intriguing. That people can just be who they are without apology as they evolve through difficulties of life was a story well told.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

NOT HEAVY

Would you listen to Heft again? Why?

YEs I was caught up in the story and wanted to know " WHATS NEXT"

Who was your favorite character and why?

The maid : she really brought life to the story

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good listen

What made the experience of listening to Heft the most enjoyable?

The way that the characters become real people that you really care about.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Heft?

I can't say without giving away the story. But I really cared about what happened to Kell, so every moment that pertained to him was memorable, maybe especially his mother's death and the way he reacted.

Have you listened to any of Kirby Heyborne and Keith Szarabajka ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No...

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

Kell. I want to see what's happened to him since the end of the story. OK. I want to take Arthur Opp out too, to see if Kell changed his life like I think it did.

Any additional comments?

The story builds and builds to the climax and sometimes I wanted to be able to skim through it (like you can when you read text) so I could get there. But listening forces you to hear every bit of this wonderfully written book and you realize how important that is so that you can truly understand these characters.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Huge entree, but no dessert

I enjoyed this story, the characters were mostly likeable and very human. Each one had their own problems; the protagonist battled loneliness and morbid obesity. Other characters battled the stuff life dishes out to all; death, sadness, disease, unexpected pregnancy, disappointment.

I did get fully involved in the storyline. The things we do to ourselves and the things that life does to us are sometimes hard to distinguish, and so it was for these people. I rooted for some, felt bad for others and some made bad choices or had bad luck.

When the somewhat happier denouement was imminent, the story just stopped. It is not that a reader cannot imagine the scenes following the abrupt ending, but a little more from the authoress would have been appreciated. The semi-tragic characters in this story both needed and deserved some happiness, they had earned it and I felt it was snatched from them (and me) at the last second.

One more chapter might have been in order here to leave readers feeling more hopeful that all really would be better for all the characters as their lives went on. The reader is left to wonder how it came out after a lot of time was spent setting up what could have and should have been a wonderful final scene. Lots of story entree, but no dessert in the form of a real ending, leaving me feeling vaguely dissatisfied. (Sometimes even a heavy meal can benefit from just a bite or two of something sweet at the end.) The lack of dessert docks one star from this book.

Performances were excellent and had much to do with allowing involvement with the characters. With two narrators there was never any doubt as to which point of view was being highlighted at any time. Both narrators were great.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic characters

I love how well we get to know the characters, and so much their inner dialog rings true. This is just a great story. I gave the performance only 4 stars because you can tell when Kel's narrator starts "fresh" and it's a little jolting.. it didn't diminish the story in any way but it's probably something one shouldn't be noticing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Recommend with reservations

3-1/2 stars: This book is very hard for me to review because I have such mixed feelings about it. It was not quite what I had expected and so I feel a little let down by that. I expected, overall, a much more uplifting story. Yes, I expected sad parts but honestly, most of this book was such a downer. I didn't make me cry but it made my heart feel very heavy and sad so that I wanted to cry but couldn't quite. There were a few uplifting, positive moments peppered throughout, but not enough to offset the oppressive sadness that permeated the story. On the other hand, I was completely fascinated, and oddly charmed, by the character of Arthur Opp and the gentleman who read his part in the audiobook was wonderful. He really captured the essence of Arthur. The reader for Kel was very good but didn't stand out in any unique way from other young adult male readers I've listened to. Finally, I wish the author had taken us into the relationship between Kel and Arthur instead of leaving us where she did. I felt a little bit cheated at the end of the book. I'd recommend this book, but with reservations.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!!!

What made the experience of listening to Heft the most enjoyable?

Some books are meant to be heard and this is one of them. The narrators really bring the story to life and you really want the characters to be real live people you could go have a coffee with and get to know. I didn't want it to end and was sad when it did..it left me wanting more. Please, please please Liz Moore write a sequel!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Inside a teen's head dealing with grief

What did you love best about Heft?

Learning how a teen deals with grief.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The teen due to his battles and conquests during the hard teen years.

Any additional comments?

I was pleasantly surprised when the first character's reading changed over to a teen boy's reading! It made the story more interesting rather than listening to an overweight adult moaning about his life. I am hopeful for a part two of "Heft."

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