Loneliness, Hope, and Mastery of Perspectives
This was one of my favorite books of 2012. Liz Moore did so many interesting things in this story of Arthur Opp, a 550-pound shut-in, and Kel, an 18 year old high school sports phenom. One woman ties their otherwise separate lives together: Charlene Turner, Kel’s mother and one-time penpal and love interest of Arthur. The theme of this book is loneliness. Arthur’s is obvious, as he has very little contact with anyone from the outside. Charlene’s stems from her addictions and from having failed to obtain her perceived potential. And despite being surrounded by peers who adore and admire him, Kel is consistently keeping true intimacy from forming with most of his friends because he doesn’t want them to know he’s the poor kid in a school filled with privileged youth. Each chapter switches perspective, rocking between Arthur and Kel. Liz Moore skillfully crafts two distinctly different voices for her two main characters. Narrators Kirby Heyborne as Kel and Keith Szarabajka as Arthur provide the perfect voicing for the characters and is a nice touch for the audio version. However, as enjoyable as it is, dual narration isn’t necessary to convey the different character voices because of how masterfully Liz Moore wrote the sections. She does this not only through diction, but also by switching tenses for Arthur and Kel. Arthur’s sections are told in past tense, which I felt illustrates how he lives in the past. Kel’s are told in the present tense, which reinforces the notion that he lives from day to day as most youth do, but especially those with limited prospects despite their immense talent. The print version reveals many other textual based techniques that set Arthur’s and Kel’s chapters apart. The way Arthur and Kel come together is told in a way that leads the listener to draw further conclusions about how they are connected, only to later have those assumptions overturned. One of the greatest criticisms about this book is that it ends without enough closure, without enough explanation as to what happens between and to Arthur and Kel. But that’s the way I like my books, when they leave some questions unanswered and allow the future to remain uncertain. I appreciate it when an author is fearless in her approach to storytelling and is intrepid in employing an experimental style. Liz Moore is just such an author. I hope she continues to do new and interesting things in the future.