Heft, a Novel by Liz Moore

Opening sentences in a novel can set the tone and help readers decide about a book. Here are the opening sentences for Heft: A Novel by Liz Moore.

The first thing you must know about me is that I am colossally fat. When I knew you I was what one might call plump but I am no longer plump. I eat what I want & furthermore I eat whenever I want. For years I have made very little effort to reduce the amount that I eat for I have seen no cause to. Despite this I am neither immobile nor bedridden but I do feel winded when I walk more than six or seven steps, & I do feel very shy and sort of encased in something as if I were a cello or an expensive gun.

I have no way of knowing exactly what I weigh but I estimate that it is between five and six hundred pounds. The last time I went to a doctor's office was years ago and back then I weighed four hundred eighty pounds & they had to put me on a special scale. The doctor looked at me & told me I was surely on a path toward early death.

Title: Heft: A Novel by Liz Moore
Published January 23, 2012 by W.W. Norton & Company

Publisher's description: Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn't left his 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 a baseball career. 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.  Heft is the story of two improbable heroes whose sudden connection transforms both their lives. Elizabeth McCracken's novel is about love and family found in the most unexpected places.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book.