The Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center presents its fourth Big Read program in celebration of Carson McCuller’s novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, through April 30.
Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) is set in a small Georgia mill town in the late 1930s. At the center is John Singer, who rents a room in the Kelly house after his fellow deaf companion, Spiros, is sent away to an asylum. The amiable Singer is a confidant for four of the town’s misfits—Mick, a teenage girl who dreams of becoming a trained musician; Benedict, the town’s black doctor; Jake, an alcoholic socialist; and Biff, the owner of the local café. Over the course of a year, the characters encounter difficult challenges and find solace in Singer, but it’s not until the novel’s climax do any of these lonely souls fully appreciate Singer’s importance in their lives. Whether quiet or roaring, deliberate or reckless, the five voices of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter unite in a common cry of isolation and hope.
Cumberland County is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read 2010. View the Programs link for a list of Spring Lake Branch’s programs for all ages with themes relating to the Depression Era 1930s and the author’s life, including her stay here in Fayetteville.
