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The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Carson McCullers (Author), Kasia Boddy (Introduction) "In the town there were two mutes, and they were always together ..." (more)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (27 Mar 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141185228
ISBN-13: 978-0141185224
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,114 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#2 in Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > McCullers, Carson

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Product Description

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was Carson McCullers' first novel, written in 1940. Set in a small town in the American South, it is the story of a group of people who have little in common except that they are all hopelessly lonely. A young girl, a drunken socialist and a black doctor are drawn to a gentle, sympathetic deaf mute, whose presence changes their lives. This powerful exploration of alienation is both moving and perceptive.

About the Author

Carson McCullers was born in 1917. She is the critically acclaimed author of several popular novels in the 1940s and '50s, including The Member of the Wedding (1946). Her novels frequently depicted life in small towns of the southeastern United States and were marked by themes of loneliness and spiritual isolation. McCullers suffered from ill health most of her adult life, including a series of strokes that began when she was in her 20s; she died at the age of 50. The Member of the Wedding was dramatized for the stage in the 1950s and filmed in 1952 and 1997. Other films based on her books are Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967, with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando), The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968, starring Alan Arkin) and The Ballad of the Sad Café (1991).

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
In the town there were two mutes, and they were always together. Read the first page

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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	87% buy the item featured on this page: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.6 out of 5 stars (15) �5.74
	4% buy Under the Volcano (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.2 out of 5 stars (16) �5.98
	4% buy The Sound and the Fury (Vintage Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (9) �4.99
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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, 4 Feb 2005

By	Robin Ruinsky - See all my reviews

In her brilliant debut, Carson McCullers explores what may be the central core of human existence. The pursuit of love, understanding,our connection with humanity and the devastation of lonelieness when the connection is severed or misdirected.
What if the object of your affection, the focus of your friendship, the keeper of your confidences, is an illusion?
John Singer is the means by which McCullers brings to life this conundrum. A deaf mute living in the Depression era American South, Singer only commmunicates with his deaf room mate. The problem is, his room mate has no more understanding of Singer's dreams than Singer will have of the people in the town who, because of his silence, see in him reflections of themselves.
Singer's increasing isolation leads to a devastating and heartbreaking conclusion.
There is far more to this novel than I can describe here, so get a copy and discover the beauty of this book for yourself.
The writing is beautiful, the characters exquisitely realized and it is my favorite novel of all time. It is a book I picked up when I was 13 and still revisit.
McCullers speaks for all of us and our very human condition. Her insight is made more remarkable when the reader remembers that the book was published when the author was only 23 years old.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, sad and funny, 2 April 2003

By	Gordon Dent - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The lives of a number of outsiders in a small town in the American south cross and recross without the character's alienness or isolation ever being relieved. Watch for the comical clash between the two Marxists: an intellectual doctor and a radical worker who can't agree on anything.
At the novel's heart is John Singer (a desperately ironic choice of name), a deaf man who choses also to be mute. The eyes of his blind companion, he is also the confessor of the town's other lonely people, who find fruitless comfort in his patient attention.
The prose is astonishingly beautiful and the mood of the novel stays with the reader for days afterwards. Deeper and more moving than "The Ballad of the Sad Caf�", this is probably Carson McCullers's best work.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest books ever written., 27 Sep 2001

By A Customer

To say that The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is one of the greatest books ever written, is not hyperbole. This novel truely is a staggering work. I have found myself alluding to it, countless times in the eight years since I read it first. It has illuminated my understanding of relationships and interdependancy. Mrs McCullers must rank alongside Forster, Lawrence, Naipaul and Conrad as one of the great exporers of the dark and lonely soul.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting for its social commentary
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Penguin Modern Classics)

This was first published in 1940, so would not be my normal choice of book. Read more

Published 3 months ago by SusieH

4.0 out of 5 stars The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
First published in the early 1940s, 'The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter' is an originally written story of small-town America with its poverty and prejudice at the core of the story... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Blue Yates

5.0 out of 5 stars Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
A wonderful book about loneliness, love, friendship, misplaced devotion, and seeing in people what you need to see. Somehow sad and yet profoundly beautiful at the same time. Read more

Published 14 months ago by RachelWalker

3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing read
I read this book for a recent book group and although it made for an excellent discussion, three out of four of us did not enjoy it. Read more

Published 16 months ago by MaryAnne

5.0 out of 5 stars The desperate search for love and friendship; the need to reach out and touch
When John Singer loses his fellow deaf-mute and beloved friend to a psychiatric asylum he finds himself overcome by loneliness in the small town in the Deep South where he lives... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Trevor Coote

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tender Classic
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is an achingly beautiful sad and unforgettable tale. It is the most touching book I have ever read.

Published on 14 Aug 2007 by Mr. B. Eden

4.0 out of 5 stars Small town loneliness, beautifully explored.
McCullers' novel explores the sadness and loneliness felt by those living in a small American town.

We become involved with a small number of characters, and learn that they... Read more

Published on 9 Sep 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars In the ghost country of the human condition
Aside from oprah's recommendation, why is this book finding such resonancein the American heart? Because of its bold and compassionate explorationof spiritual isolation, the... Read more

Published on 23 April 2004 by mindy markum

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing insight from young author
This is a very readable, humorous and touching exploration of human communication which feels very modern despite it's age. Read more

Published on 23 Oct 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving, and very well observed
The language is beautiful, and it's an excellent observation of the futility of life. I am sure there is something extremely symbolic in the character of John Singer (being a... Read more

Published on 25 Jul 2001

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