Book Response: "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

I knew what I was walking into when my book club chose "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers for this month's discussion. I read the book eleven years ago, and I can still remember the feeling when I turned the last page. I remember feeling as though I had experienced something profound, but I wasn't quite sure how to articulate it to others. Since my book club isn't meeting for several more weeks, I figured blogging my thoughts would keep them more organized for later discussion.

If you've ever seen the movie Love Song for Bobby Long, McCullers' book features prominently as a bonding device for disparate and isolated characters. That seems right to me given that the story follows five characters that feel disconnected from everyone around them. Isolation is a prominent theme in the book, and it's interesting that these characters even seem to sabotage or turn away from opportunities to express themselves and experience genuine connection with others. McCullers captures the modernist plight of man in an industrialized society, specifically in the south in the years following The Great Depression.