The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
OFF THE SHELF
“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers’ first novel is known as a modern-day classic. To an extent it mirrors her own background of growing up in a poor mill town in the Southern United States.
The story tells of the lives of some of the townspeople and how they all gravitate towards a deaf mute called John Singer. They each confide in him with their problems and aspirations. There is Biff Bannon the local café owner, a teenage girl Mick Kelly who dreams of making something of herself, Jake Blount a political activist and the town’s African-American doctor Benedict Copeland. This doctor, despite his efforts and position in the town, is unable to change the residents’ attitudes of racism.
John Singer is patient whilst they offload their problems; they are completely unaware that he has his own pain, mourning his friend Spiros Antonapoulos, who has been banished to an insane asylum. McCullers, writing beautifully, portrays a sad collection of hopeless characters; yet there is something haunting about this book which most of us found to be food for thought and a good read. We gave it a score of 7.5.
Tricia Coulthard