The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Modern Library 100 Best Novels)

Well written and set in a very interesting period of the western world. The people had great difficulties with close interpersonal contacts except with one disabled person who did not give them any response but they all saw different reaction to their tales from him.

Writing a story of the southern culture of 1940's, seems to have persisted to this day. The anger of haves and haves not, power and lack of power, and the want to gain power to keep the same system. Brilliant writing, thoughtful character building and identification. It was written in1940 but can be placed in a southern town today. Believable.

Great buy: good price, quick delivery, excellent serice. Highly recommend! I ordered the books for one of my academic teams and was surprised with the price. The overall experience with the seller made it a pleasure!

This book was very well written. I am shocked that a woman so young as the author was had the maturity and insight to write this book. The characters are all quirky and you find yourself wondering what each one is hiding. The only reason I did not give this book five stars is because I do not feel the ending was completely developed.

The biggest problem with this book is not the message, the theme, the depression but the style. Ms. McCullers gives all her characters the same voice and the same point of view. It is almost as if she began this as a group of disparate short stories linked only by one central theme and offers no conflicting or alternative views. Perhaps this is why the book does not resonate as well as much of the other Southern literature.e.g. Eudora Welty, Flannery OConnor.

So you won't go too far off the mark by reading this but you will not find it too illuminating but rather unsatisfying. It is Manhattan chic-lit not great Southern Renaissance revival.

Based on the good reviews and the subject matter I was expecting this to be a great read but in the end I can only give this book a lukewarm review. The age of the author is apparent to me when I read this book. The characters are not well rounded and the dialouge is lacking. The story takes awhile to move along and none of the characters ever seem to truely develop. I did like several of the characters and the writing style was nice enough. 3/5

At times, disheartening; at times, frustrating; but, overall, a sticky, memorable, look at morality in a random world that often seems amoral and unfair. I wish I had read it in a class, where my interpretations could have been pushed or challenged.

A new author for me .... wonderful writing ..... excellent ... and I have read her other novels too as a consequence of reading this and she was r rated by Ernest Hemingway as one of the best of his contemporaries too

At times, disheartening; at times, frustrating; but, overall, a sticky, memorable, look at morality in a random world that often seems amoral and unfair. I wish I had read it in a class, where my interpretations could have been pushed or challenged.

A new author for me .... wonderful writing ..... excellent ... and I have read her other novels too as a consequence of reading this and she was r rated by Ernest Hemingway as one of the best of his contemporaries too

I can't imagine how Carson McCullers wrote this brilliant fiction at such a young age. I have been exposed to more British than American fiction and was trying to find out about the American greats. Another "must read" is "The Ballad of the Sad Café".

Interesting stories of various people in a small town. Don't think I made the connection the author may have intended. One needs to keep in mind the time period in which the book is written while reading.

Carson McCuller's novel about a deaf mute, Harry Singer is one of the most poignant books I have ever read. Outstanding characters and great story. It was made into a motion picture in 1969 and starred Alan Arkin as Singer, the deaf mute.

This is a great, though dark, story. I read this as a college English assignment, and found it much more enjoyable than I expected. The course was American Gothic, and though Gothic conjures up images of dark, dank, spooky and frightening, this story is one more of stifling futility. It presents a good historical perspective on the thoughts and ideas of the 30's (the rise of Socialism). Yet, it really does have a contemporary feel to it. This is a worthwhile read.

Easy read. Book was mentioned in the movie-love song for Bobby Long and was described as a book about misfits. I agree with the description. It was a book that could have been written about any place in America, at any time. I enjoyed it.

If you like the subtle complications of ordinary lives, this book is for you. There are not many cataclysmic events to confront the reader, but life itself in small town America is explored with sensitivity and wonder.

Written when the author was only 23 (paralyzed at 30, dead at 50) and an American masterpiece. The novel penetrates the deepest mysteries of the human heart, employs no sentimentality or romance, yet relentlessly floods the reader's soul with almost unbearable understanding and love.

So much yearning after MEANING by such puzzling, strange, one-dimensional characters.
Another "classic" crossed off the list, but one of the few I've not really enjoyed.
Feel as though I need a mental bath.

Mick is the most compelling character. Her transition from child to young woman draws you into both of her worlds: inside and outside. Singer is the confessor who bears a loneliness unique to his deaf and mute situation. Blount is barely sympathetic because of his tenuous hold on sanity. Dr. Copeland introduces the reader to the wretched existence of the patients who populate his days. Biff observes, muses and is the least visibly changed over the course of the year plus of McCuller's novel. Ultimately, this is an existentialist telling of the intersection of five persons in a mid-size Southern town, remarkably told.