Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

Rating:
Summary: this book changed how I view myself.
Review: I don't really know what to say first. I guess I'll say that I just finished reading it for a second time and there is only one other book I've read more than once and will read again. McCullers is an amazing writer. This novel is written so beautifully. It will start slow but in a chapter or two you'll find yourself pulled into a world that you can't leave. I recently gave this book to a cousin of mine as a gift and she had a similar reaction. I actually had to read this for an english class at my school and might never have picked it up otherwise. The characters' lives cross in such interesting ways and all of them deal with Singer, who is still a mystery I am trying to figure out. This book will pull you on an emotion rollercoaster and then leave you thinking about it for years after it ends, like a good movie does. I rarely cry in movies and almost never over a book but this one brought me to tears more than a few times. Just read it and maybe you'll understand.

Rating:
Summary: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter~
Review: One of the most amazing things about The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is that Carson McCullers was only 23 when she wrote this. The writing in this novel is incredible. I think the reader should be prepared for the fact that this story is melancholy and can be depressing at times, but at the same time is brilliant in its character depth and social understanding. I wish I would have read this novel in highschool as there is clearly a lot of symbolism and statement that would lead to great discussions. The center of this novel is John Singer a deaf-mute who is feeling abandoned after his life-long friend Antonapoulos is sent away to a distant hospital. The novel introduces us to 4 lives: a young girl named Mick who grows up in poverty; Dr. Copeland, an African-American doctor; Jake Blount a wandering alcoholic and Biff Brannon a cafe owner. We learn the loneliness and pain of each of these characters and watch as each one is drawn to the mute, John Singer. McCullers details her novel with many truths about the human spirit, as well as some political and social statements of her own. It is said that much of the novel is autobiographical as McCullers was raised in a small southern town, primarily by her African-American maid. I would suggest that the reading of this novel is coupled with a little research about McCullers and some background info on the novel for full appreciation. Upon completion I am glad that I read this and can appreciate it for all that it offers and is trying to say.

Rating:
Summary: A deep book
Review: The Heart is a lonely Hunter is a very different sort of book. I've read quite a few books, and never one quite like it. One person I know compared it to the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath because of the dark story line. The story is based upon the lives of 5 main characters, the majority of the story telling spent on the mute John Singer and the teenager Mick Kelly. Themes of alienation, isolation, intolerance, loneliness, and the fulfillment of dreams dominate the novel. The opposite of a superficial book, this story is about how people feel at their core and their dreams and aspirations. The writing is good, but just not very happy. The focus is more on how lonely each character feels and for what reasons. After reading it, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter forced me to think deeply. And I believe the title sums up what Carson McCullers was trying to say in her first novel.

Rating:
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: Very sad, but the characters stay with you
Review: This is one of the best books I've read in a while. It is very sad; you can't decide which character is the worst off. Mick, the gangly tomboy who is tryign to find some beauty in a harsh world, while also trying to deal with the problems of her family and the trials of growing up. Dr. Copeland, the educated black doctor, bitter against the injustices shown his people. Biff Brannon, the hardened restaurant owner, who shows signs of being a homosexual in a time when being a homosexual was not acceptable. Jake Blount, the radical drifter, who talks and talks but no one listens. And Mr. Singer, the deaf mute with a longing for his best friend, the only person who understands him. All of these characters are fully drawn, and each one of them makes you care deeply for him/her, even though they are very hard to like. You read on, wanting to know what happens to these people, and whether anyone finds happiness at all. While the ending is not all that happy, the point is made. Everyone is searching for something, whether it be beauty, like Mick, or understanding, like Mr. Singer. And as the title says, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. My only regret is that I waited so long to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: this was the greatist yet saddest book i have ever read. i am almost in eighth grade and was assigned this book to read and i am very glad i was assigned this book. the heart is a lonley hunter is about four very different yet very alike people strugling through life. this is definentley a life changing book. this book i recomend to teens and adults only because young childeren between the ages of 1-11 may not be able to understand the true meaning of the story. if i could give this book ten stars i would.