HEFT

HEFT is the story of a triangle: Charlene Turner, her old English professor Arthur Opp, and Kel, Charlene's son. Charlene is dying of alcoholism and she knows it. So she orchestrates a meeting between Arthur, who adored her as a student years ago, and Kel, a star baseball player struggling as a new transfer at a ritzy private school. It is 500-pound Arthur whose voice immediately draws us into this story -- honest, lonely, articulate, and instantly engaging. It is a voice that is both nearly-unbearable in its sadness and unforgettable in its poignancy. Arthur has rarely left his house since 1996, the year his closest friend Marty died and the time he ballooned from merely fat to grotesquely obese. After 2001 he became a complete recluse. But upon receiving an unexpected call from Charlene, Arthur allows a new person into his home for the first time in seven years - Yolanda, a young cleaning woman with troubles of her own. The ways both Arthur's and Kel's life change through Yolanda's presence are gently surprising and beautiful. Arthur and Kel don't know how they're connected, but they need the link to bear the weight of their losses. Told through both Arthur and Kel's voices, HEFT is a deftly-written and beautiful novel.

Liz Moore is 26 years old. She has an MFA from Hunter College and is also a musician and teacher. This is her debut novel. Her first story collection was well reviewed, selected for Borders' Original Voices Program, starred by Kirkus, and given 3.5 /4 by People magazine. "Elegant, wise, and beautifully constructed," wrote Roddy Doyle.