The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Rating: 6/10

When a book takes a really long time for me to read, I automatically want to rate them poorly. It took me around two months to power through this book, to my dismay. Every time I picked it up I wanted to put it back down. It was very slow in terms of plot, and (while containing pretty language) I often did not know what the author was trying to say. I think I do not have the brain to read older books such as this, so it’s possible I am more to blame than Carson. There were references, words, and slurs in here that I either could not stand to read or did not understand fully, so I felt like reading this book was a chore. 

The positives of it are that I enjoyed every chapter being about a different character. It kept it somewhat fresh; just as you’re annoyed with one character, she switches over to another to give you a breather. Also, this book does portray how we can all be lonely and isolated from others, even if we are surrounded by them all the time. The things that keep me up at night and make me feel removed from others are not the same as the things that do so for you. It was a beautiful topic in a melancholic way. 

I had been recommended this book generally by the internet, and I had read it was absolutely fantastic. I do not agree with that. This might just not be my type of book or era of writing that I enjoy. I would not say it was a complete disappointment, however. So, you do you and read it if you feel so compelled. Just know there are a lot of racial issues and bad slurs in this book that might make you flinch while reading. Also, the back of the book describes a character as a “heroine” and I do not think they know what that word means? Regardless, this was a decent, very, very slow read, and the overarching idea was nice to walk away with, but I would not tell my loved ones to go buy this book.