1.99k reviews for:

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Carson McCullers

3.94 AVERAGE

terriwise's review

4.0

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The book's title--a good title--really tells you what's inside. This would be an ideal sort of book for a high school English class. The themes are not difficult to tease out, and there's plenty to discuss.

alex_mlynek's review

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

delajune's review

4.0

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The overwhelming theme of this book is not loneliness exactly, but longing. The characters, especially Mick Kelly, are richly drawn, expansive, and motivated by deeply personal desires and yearnings. There is a sense of mystery, awe, and brutality amid the cycle of life and aging. A story of people who want human connection, yet for various reasons can't attain it. Observations of the social, political, and structural dynamics around race, class, and gender are mostly finely wrought but sometimes lacked some definition, particularly around the queerness of its characters.

jonah913's review

3.5

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

tomgreen81's review

4.0

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hnurmikko123's review

3.75

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rml75's review

5.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mon6's review against another edition

4.5

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

victor_a_davis's review

2.0

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Not great, not really sure why it's considered a "classic." I love the premise though, the story of people's lives during the Great Depression, a term she never uses in the book. People just lived, and life is hard, no surprise to anyone. There are far too many "happenings" in the book, moments when I thought "Aha, maybe this is what it's about," but no, just a 300-page exposition, rich in character, devoid of story, with a nice neat symmetrical ending.

lindat628's review

5.0

emotional reflective

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes