To say that Liz Moore’s latest novel, her fourth, was her finest to date may lead those who have never read her to believe that she spent years limbering up and taking cautious steps before finally hitting her stride. This isn’t the case at all. Her first three books were not apprentice work. Each was satisfyingly accomplished and rightfully acclaimed. Her vibrant 2007 debut, The Words of Every Song, charted the hopes, dreams, and disappointments of various people trying to get ahead in the music industry. Heft (2012) was a moving depiction of two lonely, damaged souls — an obese recluse and a self-destructive teenager — negotiating life’s hard knocks, while The Unseen World (2016) was an ingenious coming-of-age story about a young girl decoding her father’s brilliant mind and hidden past.
