Southern Gothic best defines this novel by Carson McCullers. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is set in a George mill town prior to World War II, a place filled with discrimination, poverty, and lonely people who don’t always see themselves as victims of Southern pre-Civil Rights culture. McCullers wrote the book in her early 20s, which amazes me. She takes readers on a journey into the lives of marginalized people who struggle with one another and their inner turmoil. At times, I wanted to yell, “What is wrong with this place?”
The book is considered an American classic and has been adapted into a film. I read the Audible version and thought it was well narrated. Simply stated, the book is a great read.
Loneliness hunts and stalks characters living in a world that doesn’t care about their heart or their pain. One character says it best: “The way I need you is a loneliness I cannot bear.”
The central character is John Singer, a deaf-mute who has the ironic gift of listening and makes people feel he understands and cares. The other main characters attribute positive traits or status to Singer that don’t exist. Even the central character (Spoiler Alert) is consumed by a hunter who carries a gun.