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roswall's review against another edition
4.0
I knew nothing of the author or the book except its intriguing and beautiful title. It's in many ways a calm and carefully written depiction of the life of a couple of persons and their materialistic reality. The struggles of poverty, race and how all of them in their hearts are searching for something.
It's interesting how Mr. Singer, by being different and a man of few words, becomes the surface of all kinds of projections and fantasies.
I'm mostly touched by the story of Mick though, which seems to be autobiographical.
Three quotes:
"Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them."
"Mick sat on the steps a long time. Miss Brown did not turn on her radio and there was nothing but the noises that people made. She thought a long time and kept hitting her thighs with her fists. Her face felt like it was scattered in pieces and she could not keep it straight. The feeling was a whole lot worse than being hungry for any dinner, yet it was like that. I want— I want— I want— was all that she could think about— but just what this real want was she did not know."
And the last one, when Mick is in a rush, her father calls her to his room...
"She was in such a hurry that it was hard to stand still. Her Dad noticed this. He tried to say something— but he had not called to tell her anything special. He only wanted to talk with her for a little while. He started to speak and swallowed. They just looked at each other. The quietness grew out longer and neither of them could say a word. That was when she realized about her Dad. It wasn’t like she was learning a new fact— she had understood it all along in every way except with her brain. Now she just suddenly knew that she knew about her Dad. He was lonesome and he was an old man. Because none of the kids went to him for anything and because he didn’t earn much money he felt like he was cut off from the family. And in his lonesomeness he wanted to be close to one of his kids— and they were all so busy that they didn’t know it. He felt like he wasn’t much real use to anybody. She understood this while they were looking at each other. It gave her a queer feeling. Her Dad picked up a watch spring and cleaned it with a brush dipped in gasoline. ‘I know you’re in a hurry. I just hollered to say hello.’ ‘No, I’m not in any rush,’ she said. ‘Honest.’ "
It's interesting how Mr. Singer, by being different and a man of few words, becomes the surface of all kinds of projections and fantasies.
I'm mostly touched by the story of Mick though, which seems to be autobiographical.
Three quotes:
"Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them."
"Mick sat on the steps a long time. Miss Brown did not turn on her radio and there was nothing but the noises that people made. She thought a long time and kept hitting her thighs with her fists. Her face felt like it was scattered in pieces and she could not keep it straight. The feeling was a whole lot worse than being hungry for any dinner, yet it was like that. I want— I want— I want— was all that she could think about— but just what this real want was she did not know."
And the last one, when Mick is in a rush, her father calls her to his room...
"She was in such a hurry that it was hard to stand still. Her Dad noticed this. He tried to say something— but he had not called to tell her anything special. He only wanted to talk with her for a little while. He started to speak and swallowed. They just looked at each other. The quietness grew out longer and neither of them could say a word. That was when she realized about her Dad. It wasn’t like she was learning a new fact— she had understood it all along in every way except with her brain. Now she just suddenly knew that she knew about her Dad. He was lonesome and he was an old man. Because none of the kids went to him for anything and because he didn’t earn much money he felt like he was cut off from the family. And in his lonesomeness he wanted to be close to one of his kids— and they were all so busy that they didn’t know it. He felt like he wasn’t much real use to anybody. She understood this while they were looking at each other. It gave her a queer feeling. Her Dad picked up a watch spring and cleaned it with a brush dipped in gasoline. ‘I know you’re in a hurry. I just hollered to say hello.’ ‘No, I’m not in any rush,’ she said. ‘Honest.’ "
khornstein1's review against another edition
5.0
Just wow. If someone had told me, or tried to tell me what this book was about, I probably wouldn't have read it. This is what you might have told me the books is about: racism, sexism, homophopia, Marxism, class divisions, the South, Jews, suicide, prisons. Here are the characters: a mute, his Greek "friend," a 12-year-old girl, an African-American doctor, a poor white man who owns a cafe, a carnival worker/would-be labor organizer. And I would have said, "Oh G*d...someone trying to make a point with a bunch of quirky characters...yuck."
But this is what the book is really about: loneliness, the complexity of people's lives, peoples' fallibility, the power of friendship.
I have read a lot and I am a pretty hardened reader at this point, but I felt Mick's anticipation: would the kids she wanted to be friends with show up at her party? Would the interlopers destroy her parents' house? And I felt the mute Singer's anxiety: what would happen when he set up his film projector in the mental ward? I'm thinking I don't want Mick to get pregnant! And I am sickened by Willie's treatment in prison.
Carson McCullers wrote effortlessly at the age of 23. And she wrote this timeless story in 1940. Just wow--one of the absolutely best books I've ever read.
But this is what the book is really about: loneliness, the complexity of people's lives, peoples' fallibility, the power of friendship.
I have read a lot and I am a pretty hardened reader at this point, but I felt Mick's anticipation: would the kids she wanted to be friends with show up at her party? Would the interlopers destroy her parents' house? And I felt the mute Singer's anxiety: what would happen when he set up his film projector in the mental ward? I'm thinking I don't want Mick to get pregnant! And I am sickened by Willie's treatment in prison.
Carson McCullers wrote effortlessly at the age of 23. And she wrote this timeless story in 1940. Just wow--one of the absolutely best books I've ever read.
vampirehelpdesk's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rhonifoni's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
mossfacts's review against another edition
3.25
Not bad at all, just didn't do much for me? When I found out she wrote this at 23 it made a lot of sense (not like I could do any better)
moonymoss's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ivyninareads's review against another edition
5.0
This took me a while to read, but I am so very glad that I stuck it out.
The writing style in this novel is just the kind I like: pin-point concise. It's always this kind of writing that leaves a feeling of lingering magic. It just makes me wonder how the author has so perfectly arranged their words to capture in complete exactness a feeling, setting, ambience, tension or character. The searing hot Summer days of the deep South burned through these pages and yet somehow scenes felt just as right and believable in the frigid chill of Winter. I was constantly enamoured by descriptions of setting that teleported me straight to the characters' world:
This was one of hundreds of perfectly packaged little descriptions that in only a few short lines encapsulates the feeling and atmosphere of a location. This quote in particular just so deliciously and accurately details that moment where, in a modern setting, you're trying to call an Uber home at 5am on a Sunday and there are people around starting their morning jogs. In short, the writing in this novel is sublime.
I was also a massive fan of Mick Kelly's passion for music in this novel. This is more of a subjective notion, but the way that Mick's magnetism to music was written about fuelled me with an energy to be creative. To write and scrapbook and create and perform. It made me really inspired and I absolute adore when books are capable of producing this feeling, this hunger to be creative, in me.
However, it must be said that, being published in 1940, this novel is unfortunately riddled with racist language. It's important to understand the context in which this novel is written, but despite this it does not make the language any more acceptable. If this language is something you are uncomfortable seeing when reading, please do not pick up this book.
In spite of all I have written, not very much actually happens in this novel. We are following the lives, thoughts and revelations of about five central characters and all of what they do is quite mundane. The beauty of Carson McCullers' writing once again becomes pronounced with the delicate and alluring way in which she bottles up this mundanity and turns it into something deeply personal, introspective and most importantly, interesting.
I was most profoundly moved by the relationship that Mick Kelly, Biff Brannon, Jake Blount and Dr. Copeland have with John Singer. Singer acts as almost a sounding board for these characters, allowing their most private revelations to be spoken aloud. But most important of all, due to Singer's kind and sympathetic nature, each of his frequent visitors feels as though their thoughts are valid and that they belong. Without Singer, these characters feel misunderstood and confused, as if they are missing something.
What I find most interesting in all of this, is that Singer is a deaf-mute himself, and thus in his many conversations with these characters, he interacts very little other than nods and shakes of the head, and when he picks up his notepad and silver pencil. I absolutely commend McCullers in the way that she used these intricate characters to subtly explore one universal truth of humanity without forcing the moral at the reader. That moral being, that everyone just wants to feel heard, understood and that they belong. "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" could not be a more perfect title for this exceptional novel as it is the heart and one's innermost thoughts and intentions that yearn to be understood – both on a personal level and by the world at large.
An absolutely stunning read and an instant favourite. I love when I leave a book feeling changed. This novel had that exact effect. Without a doubt.
The writing style in this novel is just the kind I like: pin-point concise. It's always this kind of writing that leaves a feeling of lingering magic. It just makes me wonder how the author has so perfectly arranged their words to capture in complete exactness a feeling, setting, ambience, tension or character. The searing hot Summer days of the deep South burned through these pages and yet somehow scenes felt just as right and believable in the frigid chill of Winter. I was constantly enamoured by descriptions of setting that teleported me straight to the characters' world:
"The place was still not crowded – it was the hour when men who have been up all night meet those who are freshly wakened and ready to start a new day. The sleepy waitress was serving both beer and coffee. There was no noise or conversation, for each person seemed to be alone. The mutual distrust between the men who were just awakened and those who were ending a long night gave everyone a feeling of estrangement."
This was one of hundreds of perfectly packaged little descriptions that in only a few short lines encapsulates the feeling and atmosphere of a location. This quote in particular just so deliciously and accurately details that moment where, in a modern setting, you're trying to call an Uber home at 5am on a Sunday and there are people around starting their morning jogs. In short, the writing in this novel is sublime.
I was also a massive fan of Mick Kelly's passion for music in this novel. This is more of a subjective notion, but the way that Mick's magnetism to music was written about fuelled me with an energy to be creative. To write and scrapbook and create and perform. It made me really inspired and I absolute adore when books are capable of producing this feeling, this hunger to be creative, in me.
However, it must be said that, being published in 1940, this novel is unfortunately riddled with racist language. It's important to understand the context in which this novel is written, but despite this it does not make the language any more acceptable. If this language is something you are uncomfortable seeing when reading, please do not pick up this book.
In spite of all I have written, not very much actually happens in this novel. We are following the lives, thoughts and revelations of about five central characters and all of what they do is quite mundane. The beauty of Carson McCullers' writing once again becomes pronounced with the delicate and alluring way in which she bottles up this mundanity and turns it into something deeply personal, introspective and most importantly, interesting.
I was most profoundly moved by the relationship that Mick Kelly, Biff Brannon, Jake Blount and Dr. Copeland have with John Singer.
Spoiler
When Mr. Singer dies, each of these characters feels a great sense of loss. Blount, recalling his innermost thoughts that he had told to Singer, admits that "with his death it seemed to him that they were lost".Spoiler
While Singer is alive, his visitors' narratives seem to be progressing towards some greater purpose or goal. And yet, when Singer tragically commits suicide after discovering the death of his closest friend, a sickly deaf-mute named Spiros Antonapoulus, all of the characters are plunged into a sense of uncertainty. Mick can no longer access the "inside room" where her plans for her future and music were previously held. Blount feels his thoughts about the necessary downfall of Capitalism were lost with Singer and decides to move cities for a new start. Biff is left wondering why each of them was drawn to Singer in the first place and interprets his inability to understand this as some "ugly joke". Dr. Copeland falls deeper into his illness and must move away to rest and recover, which means having to give up his life's purpose and his plans for marching to Washington to fight for the rights of Black people.What I find most interesting in all of this, is that Singer is a deaf-mute himself, and thus in his many conversations with these characters, he interacts very little other than nods and shakes of the head, and when he picks up his notepad and silver pencil. I absolutely commend McCullers in the way that she used these intricate characters to subtly explore one universal truth of humanity without forcing the moral at the reader. That moral being, that everyone just wants to feel heard, understood and that they belong. "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" could not be a more perfect title for this exceptional novel as it is the heart and one's innermost thoughts and intentions that yearn to be understood – both on a personal level and by the world at large.
An absolutely stunning read and an instant favourite. I love when I leave a book feeling changed. This novel had that exact effect. Without a doubt.