The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Rating:
Summary: Please Amazon, No Spoilers!
Review: I am not finished reading this book, but I will give it 5 stars anyway. What I object to is browsing through the other reviews given this novel only to find that Amazon.com has included a review from a national publication which reveals the ending of the story, until now unknown to me. The reviewers seem to be able to demonstrate enough tact not to mention too much of the plot; Amazon should be able to do the same. In the future I will be more careful in what I read on this website.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This is one of the classic pieces of Southern literature. The unfortunate part is that it is quite often forgotten, lost among the GOND WITH THE WINDS, the BARK OF THE DOGWOODS, and the TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRDS. But make no mistake, HUNTER holds up to those books just as well and even carves its own niche among the "CLASSICS."

The story, even if told by someone less talented, is fascinating enough. "In the town there were two mutes." But what McCullers does with it is genius. Her pacing and character development are flawless and she carries off scenes that, in any other writer's hands, would turn sentimental and mushy.

Metaphors and symbols abound in this work, but it's easy to read and follow and quite frequently used in schools, along with MOCKINGBIRD and other Pieces of southern literature.

Also recommended: Carr's bio on McCullers

Rating:
Summary: Her finest
Review: ...and that's saying a lot, cuz she's written tons of good stuff. This novel, her first, was published in 1940. It explores the premise that, when push comes to shove, each of us is truly alone, isolated in our own world of loneliness.
The novel focuses on the effect of deaf-mute John Singer on those around him in the Georgia mill town where the story takes place. His loneliness is compounded with his equally mute companion goes insane and he realizes he truly has no one left with whom he can communicate.
A tragedy, beautifully and compassionately written in the Southern gothic tradition.

Rating:
Summary: A Rich Reading Experience!
Review: McCullers writing is both Southern Gothic and Existential. In the Southern Gothic tradition of Faulkner, her characters are both larger than life and grotesque. Many of them exist on the seamier side of the tracks. She shows us the dark side of the South. There is the loner, alcoholic that ends up as a carnie. There is the restaurant owner who is bitter and lonely. We also meet the old black doctor that while dedicating his life helping less fortunate in his oppressed community is so filled with bitterness and hatefulness that he can't bring himself to reconcile with his son. The son is an activist that feels his father has sold out to the white man. We also meet Mitch a young girl oppressed by her parent's poverty trying to find her way in the world. This book is an unbelievably rich reading experience -- one that should not be missed. I Recommend this book with all my heart. Other titles I enjoyed: As I Lay Dying by Faulkner, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Rating:
Summary: touches the heart area...
Review: i choose this book out of many like it from my crazy english teachers list of books written in the first 50 years of the last decade. let me tell you something... if you dont want to hear it, you have no choice... i FOUGHT through this book... it took me a week of intense reading to get through it, but i am so glad that i did, because it really hit home. i have friends who attempted suicide, who are depressed , who cut themselfs... so i realize how important it is to listen. but the fact that this dude Singer had no one and they were so wrapped up in themselfs to care, made me really sad. also, i grew up in an all white country. i was never "taught" racism, because there just wasnt any, people were just people... and this book definetly caught me up on what i missed, and it made me feel stuff for diffrent cultures and races , and made me realize how ignorant americans really are... great read of you got time.. i, unfortunatly only had a week... presentation tomorrow... but i definetly know what to say.

Rating:
Summary: Well written, but a real downer
Review: At first I was tempted to describe this book as a tragedy. After all, there is little to cheer about, few if any moments of true joy in this book. But that's not the definition of tragedy. Tragedy is when a sympathetic main character meets an unfortunate end that was either unexpected or avoidable. In this book, Carson McCullers gives her readers no reason, ever, to think that her story will end happily. There is a sense of pre-destined failure in each of her five main characters. They all have hopes, dreams, and desires - some more noble than others - but none has an aura of optimism or promise. As cliché as it sounds, reading this novel is in many ways like watching an unavoidable train wreck in slow motion.

To her credit, McCullers does an admirable job of maintaining the pace and rhythm of her narrative, despite the inevitable outcome. As pathetic and hopeless as each character is, they each possess a strong will and determination to follow what is in their heart. No matter that what is in their heart is often misguided - a fact that is painfully obvious to the reader. Because their hopes and dreams are real to them, they earn the readers' sympathy - or at least the readers' pity.

But at the risk of sounding shallow and superficial, this is a real downer of a book. You hope against your better instinct that Singer, the loveable mute who devotes his life to a friend unworthy of his love, will find what his heart is searching for. You pray that against the odds Dr. Copeland will find a way to redirect his feelings about race relations towards positive, fruitful ends. You believe that just maybe young Mick, full of energy and ambition, will pursue her dream of becoming a classical pianist. And while you set the bar much lower for Jake, the drunken drifter, you perhaps at least hope that he will find a way to stay out of trouble.

Each pursues his lonely journey is his own way. And through these journeys McCullers goes deep into the realm of personal despair, exploring her characters' pain in a way that is painful for the reader as well. In the end, you feel like you have suffered with the characters, which depending on how you look at it, makes this both a well-written book and book you may be glad to put behind you.

Rating:
Summary: If you don't want the book ruined, don't read this...
Review: An old black man going senile and dying who was born twenty years too early, a suicidal and savior-like deaf mute, a violent drunk carnie Fascist, a café owner who could be a pedophile and is turning into a transvestite after the death of his wife, and a little girl with too much stress destined to be a drunk. Actually, that sounds quite interesting. When told by Carson McCullers, it is not. I do understand it is a great work. Yes, it is famous and well written and reveals a lot about the human condition. I know all that. I just don't like it. I could relate to the characters, but not enough to care or really get involved. I can see where this could be one of those books I hate, but in discussion I get to like it more, just because of what is talked about. But that's not going to be enough to ever make me want to pick up this book again. Over three hundred pages and I was bored almost the whole time. I did like it when people started getting shot because I thought, "Finally, something's going to happen." Then nothing did except more talking about how painful life was and how justice needs to be served now and how it's not going to and what common thread links us all, we can't figure it out, boo hoo, life is miserable. Oh, and that stunning second to last paragraph where the entire theme of the novel is bluntly stated by one of the characters. It was one of the only points that was actually interesting to read. But, come on! Carson, if you wanted subtlety, you just blew it, and if you didn't want subtlety, then why the hell did you ramble on for three hundred and seven pages?! To use the words of Mick, "What good was it?...What the hell good was it."

Rating:
Summary: Emotional Narrative
Review: This book was amazing in conveying the emotions of despair and loneliness. The message sent by the novel is that there is no true answer to our problems - we may think we almost have it, and then everything can be quickly shattered. What I found most interesting about the novel was the fact that Blount (the drunk), would always say, "we need for the people to KNOW, and once they KNOW, then the lie can be exposed." It is this knowledge that McCullers nourishes the reader with. A deeply moving story with an important message.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, But Not Great
Review: "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" didn't move me in any way, but I can acknowledge the allure it seems to exercise on many people. Carson McCullers' prose is a bit airless for me. There is a certain beauty to be had in simple, precise language, but sometimes authors abuse that quality until their writing becomes characterless, which is how I feel about McCullers. I wasn't struck by any of her images or turns of phrase. I felt the nature of the story deserved a more poetic writing style than McCullers uses.

That said, the book does have a certain impact based on the story alone. While reading it, I was only moderately involved, but the book lingered in my mind for a long time afterward, and even now I get a very distinct feeling when I think about it, which is not true of everything I read.

Definitely worth reading, but not one of my personal favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Prozac Defeated!
Review: In the 307 pages of this story there is not a single ray of hope or happiness, not one morsel of humor, but only the most extreme isolation and despair. So, why read it? Because it's a superb example of technical mastery of the writer's craft, and a penetrating study of the human condition a la Dostoevsky.
Labelling The Heart is a Lonely Hunter "a Southern novel" may be accurate by virtue of its setting, but it is certainly not adequate. The story could have been set almost anywhere, with minor textual changes, and it would have been just as applicable and powerful. Furthermore, the story has historical merit, delving into youthful perceptions of pre-WWII geo-politics, domestic politics, and exploring a few sexual subjects that were taboo in the author's day.
Don't read this story to find direct answers for the human condition. This is not a book of "what to do," but rather of "what not to do." Also, this is not an appropriate story for younger readers or those presently on a regimen of prescription antidepressants.
Guardedly recommended.