Book Review: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

After his large Greek friend is taken away to a hospital, John Singer moves into a boarding house during the Great Depression. A quiet man, also a deaf-mute, the small southern town thinks of him as something special, someone they can pin their fantasies to or talk to and for some reason feel that he's listening without any prejudices. This comes as a great comfort to those who are trying to find answers to what their hearts are telling them: Mick Kelly, the young daughter of the boarding house owners who has an affinity for music and attempts to understand her new feelings for boys; Biff Brannon the local café owner whose wife just passed away; Jake Blount, a man who feels he has some mission to communicate the ideals of a free government to the folks in town; and Dr. Copeland, the only black doctor in town, well-educated and struggling to make his black brothers and sisters peaceably fight against their hardships in the South.
In Singer each has found a confidant, someone to discuss issues and questions, someone who doesn't judge them.

And yet, throughout their discussions and the increasing political and racial tensions in the small town, no one tries to understand what Singer's going through. He's separated from his most intimate friend by hundreds of miles, and the toll it's taking on him grows more and more until he learns the fate of his friend which ends up affecting more than just Singer.

A sad and rich book that it sometimes surprises me that Carson McCullers was only twenty-three when the novel was published. She tackles the politics and race relations of the day with a careful and thoughtful eye. When Dr. Copeland speaks of the struggles of blacks in the South, it comes across as someone speaking who has experienced those struggles, who truly cares for all peoples, wanting them to succeed even when they feel wronged and blocked at every step. Such insight from McCullers strikes me as remarkable. Her attention to detail also helps to bring the story to life, from the traveling carnival at which Blount finds work to the depictions of how Mick feels the music which she loves.

Her description of the intimacy between SInger and his Greek friend to me almost borders on homosexual. They never do anything more than talk -- Singer singing with his hands while the Greek nods and sometimes signs back -- but their closeness is apparent in Singer's feelings of loss when separated from the Greek or his complete happiness at their brief reunions. It's interesting that everyone turns to Singer as the most understanding and non-judgmental when, if they scrutinized his association with the Greek, they would have most likely turned on him.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is an incredible book that I recommend to anyone who enjoys the written word.

Image from Adventures in Reading.