The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

 

Summary (from the publisher): With the publication of her first novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literary sensation. With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers' finest work, an enduring masterpiece first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1940. At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated—and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

Richard Wright praised Carson McCullers for her ability "to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness." She writes "with a sweep and certainty that are overwhelming," said the New York Times. McCullers became an overnight literary sensation, but her novel has endured, just as timely and powerful today as when it was first published. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is Carson McCullers at her most compassionate, endearing best.

Review: Set in a Georgia mill town in the 1930s, this book follows John Singer, a deaf-mute man and the constellation of city residents who are drawn to him. This was a beautifully moving book about multiple isolated individuals who are all yearning for fulfillment and connection that they lack. The other central characters, which include Biff Brannon (a cafe owner), Mick Kelly (a young teenage girl), Jake (a migrant alcoholic), and Dr. Copeland (a black doctor), are drawn to John Singer as sort of a blank canvas. Because of his inability to fully communicate back, they each see him as someone who perfectly understands them and they pour out their thoughts and feelings to his calm, silent presence. They all think they know him and have a great connection to him, but all are fully oblivious to his suffering and the great loss he feels for his former companion.  

I don't know what I expected going into this book, but it wasn't to feel a sense of aching empathy for each of the characters. The title of this book is so poetic and perfectly apt for its cast of characters, who all are isolated and seeking. McCullers does such an excellent job of showing the reader the characters but never telling you how to feel about them. The writing is relatively simple, but the characters are achingly complex. 

This book feels like a perfect snapshot of so many issues impacting the south during that time period, including race and the treatment of the disabled. In addition to the achingly loneliness, at times there is a sense of dread at what might happen next to the characters. I don't know that the ending is entirely without hope, but I was hoping for a bit more connection or redemption from the story and I'm not sure what the author is implying by the fact that it never really occurs. 

Review: 4.5 stars