Thoughts on The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)

This is the book description, taken straight off of Amazon:

With the publication of her first novel, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literary sensation. With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers' finest work, an enduring masterpiece first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1940. At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and 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 Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.
Richard Wright praised Carson McCullers for her ability "to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness." She writes "with a sweep and certainty that are overwhelming," said the NEW YORK TIMES. McCullers became an overnight literary sensation, but her novel has endured, just as timely and powerful today as when it was first published. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER is Carson McCullers at her most compassionate, endearing best.

I think it's beautifully written, and McCullers covers such a wide range of topics masterfully - family dynamics, friendship, loneliness, isolation, politics, racism, etc. When I was reading, I felt like I was really there. I could almost see Mick's face when she was listening to the radio, feel how intensely lonely Singer was without Antonapoulos, sense how much Benedict worked for the "strong true purpose" and oh, man, there are a few shockers in this book that definitely make you read on!

Perhaps what stood out to me the most is the sense of isolation in this small town. John Singer is a a mute who Mick, Jake and Benedict all feel understand them in a way that no one else can. He listens to them talk at length and they put him on a pedestal, see him as incredibly wise man of great understanding. 

Isn't there something sad about the fact that they believe Singer understands them in a way that no one else does when Singer is unable to talk back? Granted, he is able to respond - he can write, and he does at several points - but mostly, he just listens.

It's sad and yet there's something hopeful (maybe even redemptive) about it, I think. I've been going back and forth in my head about whether this is a reason for optimism or pessimism, that the characters feel less isolated when they talk to Singer when it could be seen as them isolating themselves even further - they're confiding to someone who can't - or rather, doesn't - fully participate as an equal in the conversation. Furthermore, while the three people feel so understood by Singer...they never really ask him about himself. They may worship him, but they only see him as the listener. Though they may be curious about his life, they don't ask about his innermost feelings and such. They are interested in Singer mainly because he plays the role of good listener.

Who listens to Singer? Who understands Singer? It could be argued that Antonapoulos does, but it's unclear exactly how much understanding Antonapoulos possesses. Perhaps the tragedy of the book is that no one completely escapes their isolation, no one really understands anybody else. Singer, the figure of great understanding, is so isolated and lonely, even with the three people who come to see him and talk to him. But I suppose it could be seen optimistically - that even those who lack the ability to speak  to speak have the ability to connect with others, relieving isolation.

Has anyone else read this book?

This is the first one I've read by McCullers, and I plan on reading more of her work.

Lois Lowry: On Empathy

See http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/magazine/lois-lowry-the-childrens-author-who-actually-listens-to-children.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0  for full article.

I must admit, I've never read The Giver. It's going on my list. 

The author of The Giver, Lowry, creates this "magical talent" called "veer"  in the novel - "he is able to enter another person’s consciousness and feel what they feel. That is, Gabriel battles evil with empathy." 

Isn't that stunning? There isn't any violence or hatred or any sort of animosity...instead, he feels what the other person feels. 

“The ability to understand other people’s feelings,” Lowry said. “As an encompassing gift that a kid could have — or a human — that could be the one that could save the world. If we could all acquire it to the extent that boy had it, no one would go into a movie theater with a gun.”

To empathy and to books and words and stories and anything and everything that help us develop empathy.

Feeling Known

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/magazine/george-saunders-just-wrote-the-best-book-youll-read-this-year.html?pagewanted=3&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130106&_r=0

So I've never actually written anything George Saunders has written. But now I'm adding him to my list.

"One thing is that you read them and you feel known, if that makes any sense. Or, possibly even woollier, you feel as if he understands humanity in a way that no one else quite does, and you’re comforted by it."

I think that is one of the essential functions of art, of books. We all hunger, deep down, for some sense of connection. The feeling that we are not alone in feeling whatever it is that we are feeling at the moment - lost, maybe. Confused and scared and maybe even despairing.

The fact that someone you have never met and probably never will can lift you out of that self-pitying stupor through a line in a book or a phrase in a song and make you "feel known" is a certain type of magic.

To feeling known.

Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood"

Why yes, Jolabokaflod is a word. (It's new to me, too. And no, I'm not sure of how to pronounce it.)

Sometimes it seems like there's nothing but bad news being reported. So in the spirit of the holidays (Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever you may celebrate), here's a little something cheerful from a news outlet:

http://www.npr.org/2012/12/25/167537939/literary-iceland-revels-in-its-annual-christmas-book-flood

Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what's really unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold from late September to early November. It's a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."

"If you look at book sales distribution in the U.K. and the States, most book sales actually come from a minority of people. Very few people buy lots of books. Everybody else buys one book a year if you're lucky," Bjarnason says. "It's much more widespread in Iceland. Most people buy several books a year."

(Honestly, I probably only bought five to ten books this year...I like going to the library. Yes, I am one of the dinosaurs who still go to the library. You should, too.)

To books and reading and, of course, Jolabokaflod.