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Summary: Life is hard
Review: One would expect a woman of 23 years not to have had enough experience to already know the pains and joys of life so well. Carson Mccullers allows you to feel her characters joy, bordem, anger and sorrow so deeply, that you almost forget they are not real people. The meat of this story is not the plot, but the storm of human emotions pouring out of her characters. We as readers identify with the knowledge that life is hard, and hope and laughter are what help us to continue living.
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Summary: Gorgeous snapshot of life in the South circa 1940
Review: Quite beyond the fact that Carson McCullers was only 23 when she wrote this, her first novel, she must be congratulated for having constructed such a diverse group of entirely engrossing characters. Several earlier reviewers have lamented the lack of "meaning" in this novel. If meaning is what you look for in your literature, then perhaps "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" may not be for you. If, rather, you read novels for the emersion into other worlds and introduction to thought provoking characters that they can provide, then be sure to pick up a copy of this work. The novel follows several characters in the deep South of the early 1940's (before the US gets into the war). Though these characters have almost nothing in common: Jake, a drunkard and frustrated Communist, Biff, the observant owner of the New York Cafe with a soft spot for "freaks", Mick, a reclusive and thoughtful girl at the cusp of puberty, and Dr. Copland, the town's educated and ideological black physician, their lives are each intertwined with that of Jake Singer, a deaf-mute whose silent understanding allows each of the four to attribe to him the character that he or she desires. The novel, being written in 1940, also provides the reader with some insight into the attitudes of Americans to the rise of Fascism in Europe in the thirties and the conditions of African-Americans in the period just prior to the civil rights movement of the fifties and sixties. Altogether an easy and enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: Fair warning: IT'S AWFUL!
Review: Don't let anyone talk you into reading this book. It is truly awful. Anyone who tells you there is some deeper meaning to this book is full of blasphemy. I should know. I wrote a 500-word essay on this book for Honors English and it got an A, and it was nothing but a tissue of random guesses on what the author was trying to say. I don't think anybody knows what the meaning of this book is. They just want to act like they can see something in it that you don't. Just ignore them and read smomething interesting! The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is written in a snobby tone that makes you think you are stupid for not understanding it, but it means NOTHING! This book is nothing but a bunch of random, boring scenes in a bunch of random, boring people's lives. Avoid it at all costs!
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Summary: Interesting Book
Review: Carson McCuller's THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER provides an insightful view of the 4 main characters: a young girl, a black doctor, a restaurant owner, and an alcoholic. It shows how they are able to deal with the struggles in their lives by talking to a deaf mute, who has troubles of his own. The story echoes Marxism, the feeling of being alone, and describes the hardships of living in the South during the late 1930's. I enjoyed reading the book except for its length of 306 pages. The ending was a surprise to me.
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Summary: For Adults Only
Review: I truly wish that we could have an 18 yrs and up review site... or perhaps a reviewing forum solely for those who were not forced to read books for assignments... anyhow...Though the protagonist of "The Heart..." is a pre-teen, this is not a book which will be well-understood by kids. I would like to give this book 3 1/2 stars, but that is not an option- basically it is a nice read, however there are several things which did not sit well with me. From reading the other reviews here you already see the plot. As for the characters, I was able to see a little of myself in almost all of them (except Jake- I couldn't stand him). Dr. Copeland, whose superiority and high expectations of character and behavior in others relegate and doom him to a life of disappointment; Mick and especially Bubber, the bright and thoughtful children (a bit too bright- see below); Biff Brannon, the owner of the diner; and of course, John the mute- maybe I'm nuts, but in my mind's eye I envision John Singer exactly as I do John Galt from Atlas Shrugged! Maybe it's the name, perhaps the fact that neither is a man of many words, maybe the physical description of green-grey eyes, a tall, thin build, and always keeping his hands in his pockets, or possibly the patience and willingness to suffer in silence for a long period of time without showing it... I wish I was as strong as those two. Isn't that the best part of literature though? Finding heroes who set new standards of behavior to attempt to model oneself after? Anyway, the book is not without its problems. There are many small errors, which, though not monumental, are flagrant in their number and leave a bad taste. For example, a scene will be described as taking place in October- while later in the scene we find a reference to "the September sunshine". The author also can never seem to remember whether John Singer is drinking coffee or beer- in one scene she switches 2 or 3 times... annoying things like that. What I found to be the weakest point, though, was the fact that the children are given adult attributes. Granted, children are capable of much more complex feelings than they are often given credit for... and we can all sympathize with kids to some extent, having all been there. But I was shocked when I went back to find that Bubber was only 7 years old. Seven? She should have made him ten or eleven... Like I said, a nice read for when you're in a pensive mood. #17 novel of the century? I don't know about that one... Remember, it's easy to make people cry. What's difficult is to make them laugh.
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Summary: deprimente y pesado
Review: este libro es muy deprimente y ademas muy pesado de leer, no es tan largo, pero da la sensacion de que nunca vas a acabar y cuando terminas te quedas preguntandote que has leido. no se porque se dice que es tan bueno y en donde radica la grandeza de este libro, si quieres un retrato de la soledad extrema, solo tienes que leer crimen y castigo de dostoyesvky o el extranjero de camus, en esos encuentras dos tipos de soledad,, pero esta autora no me convence. LUIS MENDEZ crazzyteacher@hotmail.com
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Summary: This Woman is a Bad Writer
Review: My lord, I should have gone with my instincts. I originally thought a book called The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was bound to be a piece of overwrought trash. Then I found out it was one of the best books of the century. What a farce that list is. This woman described a black man's hair as a "woolly cap". The endless overbearing light-dark motif. Oh, everybody's so lonely. Every other word is "lonely". Stay away from this book!
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Summary: Characters To Remember
Review: Mick Kelly, a young tomboy of a girl who has a fire in her belly for classical music and tends her brother Bubber, is a dynamic enough character to make this book a must read. Add to her presence characters like John Singer, a mute resident of the Kellys' boarding house, Bill Brannon, proprietor of the New York Cafe, Doctor Benedict, who is black in a small southern town early in the 20th Century, Mady Copeland, drinking Jake Blount who has visions, and you have a mix worth of solid reading. The book has some of the deeply introspective magic of Sherwood Anderson's WINESBURG, OHIO, but is an original on its own. It is an amazing accomplishment for a 23-year old to write what is her master work. By reading this book you will know the characters as well as family members, and the book will make you smile, and will leave a lump in your throat. This book is to novels what CASABLANCA is to movies -- not a wasted word -- a classic!
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Summary: A Compelling Expression of Loneliness and Isolation
Review: This book is set in a small, indistinct southern town, full of misfits -- people who don't feel like they quite fit in anywhere -- with different desires and dreams. A lot of what McCullers focuses on is the inability of individuals to express themselves to others. Instead, they put their energies towards self-destructive habits such as drinking, fighting, and sexual depravity. Two of the main characters are Mick Kelly and John Singer. Mick is a young tomboy who comes of age in the story. She doesn't have money for instruments or lessons, but she goes through a deeply personal attempt to find the kind of happiness and beauty she finds from musical expression. Mick, like many of the townspeople, finds beauty and intrigue in the deaf mute, John Singer. John Singer leads a quiet life, but is deeply troubled by the loss of his longtime friend Anatopolous, who is also a deaf mute. John Singer becomes a mystical figure to the townspeople, becoming a projection of each individual's personal desires. Part of his mysticism forms around the fact that he is a deaf mute, therefore communication is limited, mostly a one-way event. People pour all their wishes and dreams into their projections of him. Amazingly, Carson McCullers was only 23 when this book was published. How a person that young (well, my age, in fact) could write with such an insightful view of humanity, as well as politics, art & music is impressive. Her prose is descriptive, but at the same time spare. The narrator of the book gives a limited-omniscent view, so while you know what each character might think, you feel you only are scratching the surface of their thoughts. In many cases, what you find is that the individuals themselves don't quite understand their own motives or desires. This book in many ways reminds me of Sherwood Anderson's classic novel, Winesburg, Ohio. The power of these books is not in what is said or the events themselves, but the things left unexplained,what we are prompted to think about as a result.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Expression of Loneliness and Isolation
Review: McCuller's best-known story is set in a small, indistinct southern town, full of misfits -- people who don't feel like they quite fit in anywhere -- with a multitude of unfulfilled desires and dreams. A lot of what the story focuses on is the inability of individuals to express themselves to others. Instead, they attempt to bury their loneliness and frustration through drinking, fighting, and sex. Two of the main characters are Mick Kelly and John Singer. Mick is a young tomboy who comes of age in the story. She doesn't have money for instruments or lessons, but she goes through a deeply personal attempt to find the kind of happiness and beauty in life that she can only find from music. Mick, like many of the townspeople, finds both a strange comfort and intrigue in a deaf mute, ironically named John Singer. Singer leads a quiet life, but is deeply troubled by the loss of his longtime friend Anatopolous, another deaf mute. Singer becomes a mystical figure to the townspeople, someone whose silence they percieve as a kind of wisdom. They can project all their desires upon him since his communication is limited, largely a one-way event. People pour all their wishes and dreams into their projections of him. Carson McCullers was only 23 when this book was published. How a person that young could write with such an insightful view of humanity is impressive. Her prose is descriptive, but at the same time spare. The narration is from a limited-omniscent view, so while you know what each character might think, you feel you only are scratching the surface of their thoughts.Through the course of getting to know the characters one realizes they don't really understand their own motives or desires themselves. This book in many ways reminds me of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio. It shares commonality in narrative style, themes of isolation, loneliness and the inability of words to capture the range of human experience. The power of these books is not in what is said or the actions that are taken, but the things left unexplained and what we are prompted to think about as a result.
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