The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: Simply a beautiful book which focusses on 4 main characters and how they lack the ability to share their life and desires with others. This is alleviated by the most unlikely character, whom the others are finally able to relate to. Set in the depression era south, a few of these characters have some radical political beliefs, but I think that is understandable given their economic situation. I listened to the unabridged audio version and it was extremely well done.

Rating:
Summary: Many shades of gray
Review: Besides this book, I have read "A Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers. It is very striking to me that when I read each of these books, my mental images of the characters and settings were in black and white. Well, really, I saw it all play out in shades of gray. Maybe this is because she wrote about a time period when all movies were in black and white, and I just translated it that way in my mind. However, I think it is more likely because everyone and everything in this book are dark, often dirty, lowly, depressed, depressing and teetering on the verge of hopelessness.

The characters never connect with one another - even when they are trying to do so. They don't have authentic relationships when they think that they have. Each of them wants to share his or her inner-most truths, and without exception they are impotent in their attempts. Also, they each have things that they want to do, talents that they want to express. There are barriers that they can't or don't overcome to reach their goals or achieve any sort of success. The title is very apt because the overriding feeling of the book is loneliness.

The book is very well written. Each chapter is written as a stream of consciousness of one of 4 main characters who each move the story forward a (very tiny) bit. This book is all about characters and setting. It is definitely NOT about plot. McCullers remains stylistically consistent throughout, which seems to be quite an accomplishment.

I feel that reading this book is a literary accomplishment rather than something that led to enjoyment. I would suggest that ambitious readers should definitely read this book. On the other hand, if you prefer having a plot, uplifting themes, happy endings, characters that overcome their limitations, or basically anything at all pleasant, you may not want to spend your reading efforts on this book.

Rating:
Summary: Regarding the Audio Version
Review: The story is tightly written and very insightful. The characters are well developed. If I were rating the book, I would give it five stars. However, I chose the audio edition, which does not do justice to the book. The reader makes all of the characters sound drunk. Her Southern and Black accents are terrible. Her voice is so shrill and jarring that I have to continually readjust the volume. If you can't manage the book version, skip it altogether.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended book
Review: McCullers has an insight into person psychology that allows her to create great characters that everyone can relate to. This is my third time reading this book. It is a great piece of work, and beautifully written. It is a superb memoir, and the author's style is impressive. The characters are as rich as any who have ever been imagined, and the story is just breathtaking. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Gets under your skin
Review: I remember finding this book when I was about 12 on my mom's bookshelf, and stealing it (this strategy also yielded "The Godfather," which taught me more about sex than any health class, and Mary Renoult's books "The Bull from the Sea" and "The Persian Boy", among many others.) It was a strange little book that took a 12 year old a couple of attempts to penetrate.

When I finally "got it," I read and reread it many times.

Her writing style is odd, and for we Americans who are fed a daily diet of characters who are winners, the misfits that populate thist story consist mostly of those quirky, awkward parts of our adolescence that we'd rather forget.

But as you dig deeper into the story, McCuller's bittersweet Southern Gothic tale resonates with the force of a well-played, highly amplified bass guitar. The utterly unforgiving look at the suffering and transcendent overcoming of life's tragedies sweeps you away with its stark beauty.

Comparisons with Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" are unavoidable, and widely miss the mark. While both are stories of misfits in the American South of the 20s/30s/40s, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" pulls no punches as it looks into the despair and strength of people hanging on, on the edge of society, who look both beauty and heartache in the eye and flinch from neither.

Aside from McCullers' own "Ballad of the Sad Cafe," Annie Proulx is her spiritual and literary heir, particulary in "The Shipping News" and even more directly in "Close Range: Wyoming Stories." If you loved "Close Range," you'll also get "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," and vice versa.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Classic
Review: Carson McCullers did a wonderful job with "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter". You can find all the descriptions of the story line elsewhere. I'll simply leave it that you should absolutely include this book on ANY reading list.