The Heart Is a Lonely HunterThe Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Score Classic
What it's about
In a small Georgia mill town in the 1930s, John Singer, a deaf man, loses his only friend to an asylum and takes a room in a boarding house. Soon the town's lonely people are confiding in him: Mick, a teenage girl who dreams of music; Dr. Copeland, a Black doctor fighting for justice; Jake, a drunken radical; and Biff, a quiet café owner. Each believes Singer understands them.
Why it's worth reading
It's on both the TIME and Modern Library lists of the best novels, and McCullers wrote it at twenty-three. It's a deeply compassionate book about loneliness and the longing to be understood.
You'll love it if you liked
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Color Purple
East of EdenGood to know
It's sad and quiet. There is racist violence and a suicide.
By the numbers
- Readers43 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics83 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller25 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
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Quick answers
Is The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter worth reading?
Yes. It's on both the TIME and Modern Library lists of the best novels, and McCullers wrote it at twenty-three. It ranks #826 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 74.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter about?
In a small Georgia mill town in the 1930s, John Singer, a deaf man, loses his only friend to an asylum and takes a room in a boarding house. Soon the town's lonely people are confiding in him: Mick, a teenage girl who dreams of music; Dr. Copeland, a Black doctor fighting for justice; Jake, a drunken radical; and Biff, a quiet café owner. Each believes Singer understands them.
How long does it take to read The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter?
About 9 hours (368 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter?
If you liked it, try To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Color Purple by Alice Walker or East of Eden by John Steinbeck.