The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

By Carson McCullers
Performed by Cherry Jones

   McCullers classic novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a sad look at life in the 1930s. Through her literary characters, McCullers explores the timeless sensations of friendship, love, commitment, compassion, loss, sorrow, and survival, as well as the social issues of racism, poverty, education and politics. McCullers’ elegiac writing style brings the psychologically-weaved stories of her imaginary souls to life like tender verses, ever so slightly gilded with hope. What an emotional read.

    Singer is an educated deaf man. He uses sign, speaks and reads lips. When his very best friend is sent to an institution Singer stops signing. Loyal to his friend, he visits him often. His life and work in their small town continues. He gains many hearing friends, black and white, who come to trust him with their secrets. Singer is a saint and an enigma. His past is unknown to those who seek him, but his kind, selfless heart isn’t.

  Those who seek him out are Mick, a poor white child burdened with grownup worries. Dr. Copeland, a black doctor, emotionally and physically ill. Biff, a café owner who observes but never joins in the conversation. And Jake, a mad man.

   The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a stark, heartbreaking look at inner isolation. While listening to this audio book, I nodded with understanding, smiled at some points, held my breath at others, grieved at the losses and finally cried. Readers can expect to remember this novel long after the last CD plays. I know will.

   The audio version is preformed by Tony award-winning actress Cherry Jones. Her reading of this literary gift haunts me. I will share it with others, but never give it away. Jones starred in such Broadway plays as “The Heiress,” “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” and “Our Country’s Good,” and in films such as “The Horse Whisper,” “Signs,” and “The Villiage.”