Yonkers when I was in college because I worked with a small theater company there, and the grittiness of certain parts of Yonkers appealed to me. It also reminded me in several ways of my own hometown, which is very nice in parts and very, very downtrodden in other parts. It was important for Kel to be from someplace like Yonkers, and the geographical distance between Yonkers and Brooklyn was right.
Pells Landing is, of course, made up—partly because there was not a town in Westchester County that met all of my needs, and partly because I felt that it would be slightly slanderous to use a real high school in place of PLHS. I had fun imagining Pells, and imagining Kel’s reaction to being in Pells, which would have been similar to my own at his age.
Charlene is an important character because she’s the link between Arthur and Kel, but except for a very short passage we only get to see her through their eyes. Why did you make this choice?
An early draft of the book had three points of view in close third person—one of them being Charlene’s. In the end, I felt that allowing Kel and Arthur to tell her story made sense; part of her “lost-ness” came from not having a really strong sense of self, I think, and in the end it was part of her downfall. She saw herself only the way others saw her. Writing from the point of view of Charlene always felt unnatural and wrong.
What was the hardest part of writing the book? The easiest?
The hardest part was timing the release of information so that everything made sense and nothing was given away too early. It’s always tempting for me, as an author, to frontload a work with everything the reader possibly needs to know about a character or setting—kind of a reader’s manual—before getting into the events of a book. But I try to resist that temptation as much as possible.
The easiest part was writing in each of the two main characters’ voices, once I had finally found them; they felt as natural to me as my own voice. It was really gratifying to get to work on days when I knew what I had to write—like putting on old gloves.
Do you see Arthur and Kel as similar or different?
Physically, they’re as opposite as they can be. But I see them as startlingly similar in other ways, especially in terms of what they want: I think they’re both looking for family and home. They’re both very shy in their own ways—but Kel has been blessed with the gift of physical beauty and grace, where Arthur has not been.Similarly, I think they’re both intelligent, but Arthur has had access to the kind of support and formal education that Kel has not had, prior to attending PLHS—by which point his view of himself as primarily an athlete is cemented in his mind.
What happens after the last page?
I can’t say! But I feel a great sense of hope for both characters, and I have to believe that good things are in store for them. (I like them too much to think otherwise.)
More praise for
Heft
“[Moore’s] created a novel whose gentle understanding creates a beauty that stays with you long after the book is done.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“[A] surprising, musically crafted book.”
—Baltimore Sun
“This is not a novel with a happy ending, and that’s a good thing. Moore doesn’t tie her story up in a pretty package and hand it to the reader with care, but artfully acknowledges in the end that some heavy loads cannot easily be left behind.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“This novel is smart, disarming, and crisply written.”
—Tucson Citizen
“[An] endearing novel.”
—Booklist, starred review
“Heft . . . is a gorgeous book that will completely break your heart and then stitch it back together. . . . This is one of those rare books that manages to be deeply and genuinely moving without ever sinking into sappiness.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Only a hardhearted reader will remain immune to Kel’s troubled charm.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Moore’s lovely novel . . . is about overcoming shame and loneliness and learning to connect. It is life-affirming but never sappy.”
—Library Journal
“If ever an author cared more deeply about her characters than Liz Moore, I haven’t found her yet. She is a profoundly compassionate writer, and in these two unlikely heroes, she gives us people worth rooting for.”
—The Rumpus
“Heft is both a lyrically written tale and an engrossing page-turner . . . [that] tug[s] at a reader’s emotions. . . . This tender tale is ultimately hopeful and unforgettable.”
—Bookreporter.com
“Every once in a while, you read a book with such well-written, memorable characters that you know you’re going to remember them forever. . . . Heft is a wonderful oddball of a book. I loved it.”
—Jennifer Weiner
“Liz Moore’s second novel captures an intricate helix of American voices. The achievement of any novelist is to allow people to pay compassionate attention in an age when it’s all too easy to shut the door, close the curtains, hide away, embrace the dark. This novel goes inside and drags the hidden out into the world. A suspenseful, restorative novel from one of our fine young voices.”
—Colum McCann
“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. I don’t know how she knows what she knows about morbidly obese academics or teenaged male athletes . . . but she knows. And it’s a beautiful mix. A beautiful book.”
—Russell Banks
“Heft is a work that radiantly combines compassion and a clear-eyed vision. Liz Moore has daringly risked telling her story in two voices—that of a wealthy, cultivated, obese agoraphobe and a radically underparented teenage baseball player—and the risk has succeeded brilliantly. This is a novel of rare originality and sophistication.”
—Mary Gordon
“In Heft, Liz Moore creates a cast of vulnerable, lonely misfits who will break your heart and then make it soar. What a terrific novel!”
—Ann Hood
“Can a novel about a plus-sized academic and a baseball prodigy from Yonkers be both eloquent and sneakily profound? I’m here, dear reader, to tell you that it can. Heft is a delight.”
—John Wray
Copyright © 2012 by Liz Moore
All rights reserved
First published as a Norton paperback 2012
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,
write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
W. W. Norton Special Sales at specialsales@wwnorton.com or 800-233-4830
Book design by Helene Berinsky
Production manager: Devon Zahn
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moore, Liz, 1983–
Heft / Liz Moore. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-393-08150-3 (hardcover)
1. Life change events—Fiction. 2. Self-realization—Fiction.
3. Overweight men—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction.
5. New York (State)—Fiction. 6. Domestic fiction. I. Title.
PS3613.O5644H44 2012
813’.6—dc23
2011031979
ISBN 978-0-393-34388-5 pbk.
eISBN 978-0-393-08289-0
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.
Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT
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Table of Contents
Arthur
I Want to Tell Her
Blessed
A Week
Other Arthur
Table of Contents
Arthur
I Want to Tell Her
Blessed
A Week
Other Arthur
Table of Contents
Arthur
I Want to Tell Her
Blessed
A Week
Other Arthur
Table of Contents
Arthur
I Want to Tell Her
Blessed
A Week
Other Arthur