SSFPL Book Club: Heft by Liz Moore

Join us every 3rd Tuesday for a book chat in the 2nd floor Community Room.

This month we will be discussing Heft by Liz Moore.

 

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. Heft is a novel about love and family found in the most unexpected places.

 

Liz Moore is an acclaimed novelist known for her deeply insightful and emotionally resonant storytelling. Her debut novel, The Words of Every Song (2007), is a compelling portrayal of a fictional record company in early 2000s New York City, drawing from her own experiences as a musician. Following its publication, Moore pursued an MFA in Fiction at Hunter College and later moved to Philadelphia after receiving the University of Pennsylvania’s ArtsEdge residency. Her second novel, Heft (2012), was met with widespread acclaim, cementing her reputation as a powerful literary voice. Heft was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and included on multiple “Best of 2012” lists, including those from NPR and Apple iBooks. Moore has since authored several other novels, including The Unseen World (2016), Long Bright River (2020), and The God of the Woods (2024), all of which have garnered critical and commercial success. She currently resides in Philadelphia, where she directs the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University.

When

Location

2nd Floor, Community Room

Main Library, 901 Civic Campus Way, 94080, View Map