Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

The beloved classic that turned Carson McCullers into an overnight literary sensation and one of the Modern Library's top 20 novels of the 20th century.

“A remarkable book…From the opening page, brilliant in its establishment of mood, character, and suspense, the book takes hold of the reader.”--The New York Times

In a Georgia Mill town during the 1930s, an enigmatic John Singer, draws out the haunted confessions of an itinerant worker, a doctor, a widowed café owner, and a young girl. Each yearns for escape from small town life, but the young girl, Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music.

Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated—and, through Mick, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

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Published Apr 21, 2004

368 pages

Average rating: 6.92

51 RATINGS

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Fremont Ladies Book Club

📚 You're Invited to Our Ladies Only Book Club! Love books and great conversation? We’re a casual, reader-driven group — members suggest titles and vote to choose what we read next. New members always welcome. Just bring your love of reading!

San Tan Women's Book Club

Join us if you are interested in broadening your horizons. We read fiction one month & non-fiction the next. We meet on the 4th Thursday of every month at Panera Bread (1907 E. Williams Field Rd. Gilbert, AZ).

Wednesday Book Group

The Wednesday Book Group, formerly known as the CTC Mall Book Group, began as a joint venture between the Kanawha County Public Library (KCPL) and Charleston Town Center (CTC) Mall in Charleston, West Virginia. This group is now under the sole purview of the KCPL.

Community Reviews

Jess of the Village West
Jun 21, 2025
My favorite McCullers
Skinsfan1963
Aug 20, 2021
6/10 stars
A slice of the segregated South. This book was highly recommended to me, so I read it. The characters are rich in development, I just had trouble from time to time figuring out what the author was getting at.

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