Heft

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did you find the experience of switching between Arthur’s quiet, contemplative world and Kel’s raw, unpredictable one?

2. Many readers know Moore from her more recent bestsellers, Long Bright River (2020) and The God of the Woods (2024). What signature elements of Moore’s writing do you see in Heft? How do the novels compare in their explorations of family, secrets, and connection?

3. The title, Heft, carries multiple meanings throughout the story, from physical weight to emotional burdens. Which character did you feel carried the most “heft,” and why? In what ways did you see this concept play out beyond the main characters?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Whose internal struggle with loneliness, Arthur’s reclusiveness or Kel’s performative sociability, resonated with you more?

2. At the end of the novel, Arthur proposes the idea of a “chosen family” to Kel. Are there people who fill familial roles in your life despite not being related biologically?

3. Kel keeps his life at Pells Landing entirely separate from his home life in Yonkers. Have you ever felt the pressure to present a different version of yourself to fit into a new environment?

4. Throughout the novel, small, unexpected acts of kindness, such as Yolanda encouraging Arthur to walk with her or Lindsay giving Kel a set of her brother’s clothes, offer the characters moments of hope. What’s a small act of kindness that has made a difference in your life?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the stark contrast between Yonkers and Pells Landing explore American anxieties surrounding social class and upward mobility?

2. The novel is set in the early 2000s, when online shopping was just beginning to enable Arthur’s total isolation. How has society’s relationship with technology and loneliness evolved since then? Do you think it’s easier or harder to be a recluse like Arthur today?

3. Does Moore’s portrayal of the societal shame often associated with chronic conditions, significant weight gain, and dependency on drugs and alcohol subvert or reinforce stereotypes of mental and physical illness?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How did the alternating perspectives of Arthur and Kel shape your understanding of their characters as their stories converged?

2. How does the symbolism of Arthur’s brownstone evolve across the novel from a prison of isolation to a place of potential community?

3. How does the recurring motif of letters and photographs in a story about hidden truths allow Moore to explore The Discrepancy Between Internal Realities and External Appearances?

4. Unlike in many stories where a character’s true parentage is a central mystery resolved in the story’s conclusion, such as Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861), Heft leaves the identity of Kel’s biological father unknown. Why do you think the author made this choice? What does it say about the novel’s ultimate message on family?

5. In what ways do Arthur and Kel begin to define themselves outside of the painful legacies they inherited from their parents?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Write a letter from Yolanda to her daughter, to be opened on her 18th birthday. What lessons from Yolanda’s time with Arthur would she include?

2. Write a scene describing the first conversation between Arthur and Kel when they meet at Arthur’s dinner party.

3. Write an Epilogue exploring the future you envision for Kel five years after the story concludes.