Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I read this book many years ago and found it to be way better than the movie. It centers around a deaf man named Mr. Singer. It is a fascinating human interest story which helps us understand that even though a person is deaf, they are still a person with the same hopes and aspirations as anyone else.
Rating:
Summary: Carson McCullers' first and best
Review: This is an easy to read, sad and thought provoking novel that stayed with me a long time after finishing. The story involves the lives of four characters as they revolve around the life of a deaf mute in a small southern town in the 1930's. The story of the five main characters is so void of ego and superficiality that it allows their voices to resonate after you've finished with such haunting power it is miraculus to behold. Carson McCullers, who was increadibly only 23 when she wrote the book, writes with such fresh clean talent and crafts the arc of the characters with such sublety that it didn't hit me until the very end of the book where the elusive paths of the characters were leading to. The inside cover of the book calls McCullers a creative genius and after reading it I would have to be inclined to agree. The book reminds us that innocence at any age may be fleeting, so hold on to it as long as you can.
Rating:
Summary: BRINGING THE DEPICTED ERA VIVIDLY TO LIFE
Review: This novel -- astonishing in its power, being Carson McCuller's first -- has justly come to be considered to be a classic of modern American literature. McCullers' creative prowess is breathtaking -- she has brought to life the 1930s American South, in a non-judgemental, gently-written yet cinematically focused style of prose that has few equals. Her characters spring to life with all of their beauty and warts intact, all of their despair and hope, all of their love and hate, all of their joy and pain and anger. The prejudice that existed (and, unfortunately, still exists in many places and hearts) -- against blacks, the poor, the uneducated, the politically radical -- is laid out before the reader in such a way as to allow us to make up our own minds about it.Each of the characters in this wonderful novel seems to inhabit their own private pocket of loneliness. There are those who dare to hope and dream -- chief among them the unforgettable Mick Kelly -- and they keep a tight rein on these hopes. McCullers brings this point home well on p. 199: '...by habit they shortened their thoughts so that they would not wander out into the darkness beyond tomorrow.' The story evolves into a languidly expanding, yet unstoppable diaspora of desperate, lonely people -- all of whom seem to have at least part of their hopes for life focused on Singer, the mute who is at the center of this work. The musical metaphors McCullers employs in Mick's life are brilliant in themselves -- but there are many brilliant things about this work, it is filled with them. McCullers is a great example of a talented artist whose life was much too short -- but she has left us with an astounding body of work of the highest quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Bad First Effort
Review: Carson McCullers's "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" is the story of a group of reflective people who live in a medium-sized Southern city in the late 1930s. The novel's action happens around a deaf mute named John Singer. As the novel opens Singer is living a happy life with his deaf mute roommate Spiros Antonapoulos. Antonapoulos is committed by his cousin after displaying some erratic behavior. Singer is lonely without his friend but becomes the focal point around which the attentions of four other people are focused. Those people are Biff Brannon, the owner of the cafe where Singer eats; Dr Benedict Mady Copeland, the town's only black doctor; Jake Blount, a labor radical who drifts from city to city; and Mick Kelly, the teenaged daughter of the couple with whom he boards. Biff is the one through whom we get a clear picture of Singer as he more wonders at the attraction he holds for the others than he wonders at Singer himself. With Singer not being able to talk, the others, and many other people in the town for that matter, invest in him the qualities they admire in themselves. The poor people think he's poor, the rich people think he's rich, Jews think he is a Jew, a Turk thinks he's a Turk also, etc. And all people who meet him think that they share some kind of special knowledge together. For his part Singer just wonders at why all these people are so interested in him. There is something of the search for beauty and purpose in life about "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter". Each of the main characters of the book have lost something or are attempting to find a purpose or are attempting to make others understand some unknown universal knowledge. However, the searching these characters do seems too much of the futile kind. I don't know if McCullers was trying to say that the search for a purpose in life is bound to fail; but, that's what comes across to me. The writing in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" is not bad for a first novel. However, it certainly is not the work of someone who is a fine artist either. Too often character direction is given that seems superfluous. Characters are described to have made motions or facial gestures that seem unimportant to the story. When describing character movements it is important to keep it confined to those things which may give the reader insight into the character's mind. McCullers's direction too often seems like filler material. A better crafted or editied novel would have left out this extraneous material.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Could've Conquered All
Review: The book, "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" is a dark, yet very intelligent book about outcasts in the deep south during the 30s. The book has three parts that each focus on a part of the five main character's lives.
Part one introduces Singer, the very main character of the novel. Singer is a deaf mute who is depressed when his very best friend, Antonapoulous is sent to the nut house. Biff is a local restaurant owner of the New York Café. Biff has to deal with his wife, Alice and their unhappy marriage. Mick Kelly is a big tomboy in this part of the novel, who has a passion for music. She has to deal with raising her two younger siblings. Blount is a loud man who is faced with a drinking problem. Dr. Copeland is a black doctor and struggles with a communicating with his children.
Part Two starts the plot of the book. After each character is set up with his own disappointments and problems, Singer becomes the main character of the novel who listens to each of the other main characters and individually helps them with their own problems. Singer is still struggling with the loss of his friend and occasionally visits him in the hospital. During this part in the novel, Mick starts growing up, developing herself as a woman instead of a tomboy, and uses sex to get rid of her problems. Biff's wife dies, and he has to deal with all the good memories he now remembers of her after it's too late. Blount continues his drinking, but can't relate very well to Singer because he keeps accusing Singer of lying about being a deaf mute. Dr. Copeland regains strength with his family and daughter, Portia, but later on finds out he is dying himself.
At the end of the novel, a tragedy occurs, leaving the main characters to fend for themselves, remember the past, and move on with their lives.
I would recommend this novel to anyone. I enjoyed it and feel it really expresses how the human mind can sometimes feel left out of the world. The novel was easy to read, and although it was a little depressing it was a great book.
Rating:
Summary: The lonely heart , truly is a hunter !
Review: Carson Mc Cullers has exposed to us through this novel, the loneliness we all experiance, no matter how full our lives may seem. The story involves the lives of some wonderful characters. Set in the Deep south in the 1930's, John Singer and Antonapoulos, both deaf mutes, and seemingly life partners, are separated when Antonapoulos is sent to an asylum. Singer takes a room in a boarding house owned by the Kelly family and meets Mick Kelly. A tomboyish 13 year old girl with a passion for music and culture. Being the youngest of the girls in the family, much of the responsibility is put upon her to not only watch, but basicly raise her 2 younger siblings. With the help of Portia, a simple black woman employed by the Kelly's. Who's father Dr.Copeland, stuggles with the oppression of his people. Always battling within himself and his children. A man well educated and sucessful being a black doctor, yet all of his children a dissapointment to him. Their lack of interest to not only better themselves, but also their lack in his cause. Jake Blount, a drunken, outspoken man teams up with Singer in a relationship left empty for both he and Singer. Both being very well read people, he and Singer can't seem to connect as Singer and Antonapoulos did. Biff Brannon, a local restaurant owner, unhappy in his own marriage that has run dry, has only a few fond memories to reflect on when his wife passes away. And a new life which he looks forward to is never quenched. As Singer goes on with his life quietly, each of these characters are drawn to him, each for their own reasons. Searching for something that none will find. Mc Cullers writing style is very enjoyable. Each chapter almost entirly dedicated to each character, giving you a great sense of who this character truly is and what they are feeling. Also each chapter seems to be a little story by it's self with in this story line. This book is a fast read, easy to understand, and very clarified. Carson's use of southern black dialec is truly an asset in giving you a great feel for the south. I do recommend this book, it's a wonderful insight to a feeling deep within each and every one of us.
Rating:
Summary: This Story Will Stay With You
Review: As a freshman in high school, I chose to read, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" for a book report. I can understand how other high school students may have found this novel boring. However, it is not necessarily meant to be read by the average high school student. It is meant to be enjoyed by those who read in search of a deeper understanding. Carson McCullers wrote a thought-provoking novel of loneliness and depression that will stay with me throughout the rest my life.
Rating:
Summary: A book that gets better with age
Review: Most people will have read this before they reach their 40s. I'm a bit slower than most I suppose since I've just now gotten around to reading it. I think I'm better off though since I doubt I would have appreciated it as much if I were younger and less, dare I say, worldly. I won't rehash the plot since there are dozens of reviews that have done that already. I will say that this is a book that needs to be read. I recommend gathering around other Southern writers and read it as a stew with Harper Lee, Flannery O'Conner and Erskine Caldwell. McCullers has subtly developed characters and lulls you into a fog of desperation. I agree with Ms. Powell who said "read it as an adult."
Rating:
Summary: a nice, humble book--rather over-rated
Review: I don't wish to be harsh in my criticism of this fine novel. It is a sweet, rather warm and intimite book where we focus mostly on the internal dialogue of numerous characters brooding. This in itself tells us we are on an exploration of human emotion, as well as the thoughts, dreams, fantasies and excuses people tell themselves while contemplating their lives. It is an honest story told with a passion so earnest you almost can't help but smile at the cute little girl who wrote such a pretty little story . . . The writing is quite good in spots, adequete elsewhere and sometimes frequently awkward and uncertain. One gleans that the author lacked confidence in her writing at times and overwhelms this lingering doubt with the repeated anxieties of everyone trying to bust out over the course of the novel. This makes the book sometimes droning and dull, filled with gentle critque followed by panicked apologies. Nevertheless it is a worthwhile read, a clear and blue-skied window into the heart of someone who can turn pain into sympathy right before your eyes.
Rating:
Summary: reread this as an adult
Review: I am always amazed how books, such as The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, improve with age. I first read it in high school and was bored. Now I have reread this book as an adult. It touches my heart and soul. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is so well titled. It encompasses lonely souls who cluster around John Singer, a deaf mute. Singer losses his deaf mute roommate and companion, Antonapolous, when he is committed to an asylum. He is now alone… isolated. This change operates as a catalyst for the rest of the story. Published in 1940 before the creation of political correctness, its characters explore fascism, communism, racism, and poverty. They are misfits, isolated even when together in the same room. After his friend is committed to the asylum, John Singer takes a room with the Kelly family. The various characters that populate the novel visit John Singer in his room. They talk to John Singer, who can understand them through lip reading. Each character finds in John Singer what he/she needs to find… a sympathetic heart. But none of the characters understands or knows John Singer. He has no one to talk to; no one who to understand him; no one to help fend off his own loneliness. For John Singer, there is no sympathetic heart. For vacation, he visits Antonapolous is the asylum, where his insane friend cannot care about him. Singer responds to Antonapolous in the same way as the visitors to his room respond to him. He talks to him using sign language, but Antonapolous does not talk to him. He finds in this friend his sympathetic heart. This relationship parallels to his own position with the characters who visit his room. The novel reaches its climax when Antonapolous dies, and Singer can no longer find a reason for living. This is a beautifully written book that takes the reader into the South in the 1930’s with a truth that is hard to find in most contemporary novels. I highly recommend The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
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