"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

   One of the reading groups I participate in online recently chose "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers as the pick of the month.  One of the great things about these groups is that I get to read titles I probably wouldn't pick on my own.  It makes for exposure to a great variety of writing styles and bits about life that I wouldn't otherwise be privy to.

   McCullers was young when she wrote this book, just 23!  She went on to write other novels, but this tale of a poor town in the South was her most notable work.

   The main character in this story is Mr. Singer, a mute who in some way touches the lives of the townsfolk around him, often without really intending to!  There is Antonapoulos, his roommate at the start of the story, a food-loving Greek and also mute.  Singer is eager to please his friend, but unfortunately the Greek doesn't reciprocate unselfishly in the relationship.  When Antonapoulus is sent away to a mental hospital, the author gets to focus deeper on other characters in the story.

   Mick Kelly is a pre-teen girl somewhere in the middle of growing up.  She has to take care of her two younger brothers and put up with her prissy older sisters.  She loses herself in classical music.  She has a little crush on Mr. Singer.  She thinks he must be so nice to listen to her prattle for hours!

   Biff Brannon owns The New York Cafe, the main diner in town, where a lot of the story's action takes place.  He takes to his frequent customer Singer as well, often heading over to his apartment to chat when business is slow at the restaurant.  Biff is married to a woman he's fallen out of love with, a sad and lonely character.

   There are others who float in and out of Singer's life, all of them hungry for a listening ear, a compassionate friend, someone who understands them.  But is Singer really all they believe him to be?  How would things be different if he was able to speak?  Would people's perceptions of him change?

   McCullers, in this touching tale of Americana and humanity, points out to her readers that each of us is searching, hunting for a kindred spirit in a tumultuous world.  Each on our own path, yet alike in so many ways, especially in that most basic need for companionship.