From the Lists: #17 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) 

Carson McCullers

A small mill town in the South is a lonely place for those dangling on the fringes of polite 1930s society. A café owner, a labor organizer, an African-American doctor, and a teenage girl growing up in a boarding house make an unlikely cast of characters. The narrative thread holding this book and these characters together is a lonely, deaf-mute man named John Singer.

Each of these characters has secret dreams and ambitions they only share with Singer. The café owner is really an interior decorator at heart, the labor organizer longs for knowledge, the doctor struggles to organize his people to fight against racism, and the girl dreams of playing music in great concert halls. Sadly their fear of sharing their dreams and their ingrained distrust prevent them from realizing the person who they think is their enemy would actually be their best ally or perfect partner.

A major theme of this book, like Invisible Man, is projection. Since Singer is unable to communicate,

he becomes all things to all people. He is the sounding board, confessor, counselor, lover, and friend to all who know him. He is everything and nothing; a projection or creation of the mind to fill the needs of each character. While these characters consider Singer as their only friend, they are completely unaware of his deep longing for the return of his only friend – someone they have never met.

Carson McCullers: Saucy Minx

Like most of the novels in the 100 best English novels ofthe 20th century, there are no happy endings in this story. The characters do not rise above their circumstances. I am not sure they even learn from what they experience in the time period the book covers. It’s really a “things happen, some people are upset about these things, others don’t even notice, and in the end life goes on” kind of book.

Despite this, I really enjoyed this book – even though there is no real crisis to overcome, no crescendo of emotion, and no just rewards meted out for bad behavior. These are simply well-crafted characters who are only trying to get through the difficulties of life, fighting or succumbing to their circumstances and carrying on as best they can. And, while nothing seems to really happen, I found that I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading it. 

 And - like Slaughterhouse Five, there was a movie. Adding it to the Netflix queue now. 

Next up An American Tragedy.