Heft

I originally read a review of Liz Moore's novel Heft in Book Page when the novel first came out. I thought it sounded good so I tried checking it out at the library, but they didn't have it. I forgot about it, until recently when I joined Goodreads. I was searching lists and saw the novel on a recommended reading list. I checked the library again and this time they had it. (Oh am I glad that they did!)

Heft tells the story of Arthur Opp, a 550 pound man who has not left his house in ten years, and Kel Keller, a seventeen year old baseball player. Arthur has been in love with Kel's mother for almost twenty years. It is his correspondence with Kel's mother that keeps Arthur going, her letters giving him slices of strength and hope. The reader soon learns through Kel's perspective how troubled his mother actually is, that she is not the young student that Arthur once knew. The novel is told from the alternating voices of Arthur and Kel and eventually their stories weave together in an unexpected way. It is a beautiful, funny, and heart-wrenching novel about love, friendship, and family. I'm going to go ahead and recommend this one because it's really that good. It's compulsively readable, well written with memorable characters, and a near perfect story that tugs at your heart. I loved this book.