The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter/ The Member of the Wedding

by Carson McCullers

“Like all writers of original genius, Miss McCullers convinces us that we have missed something which was plainly to be seen in the real world . . . She is a master of peculiar perception and an incomparable storyteller.” —V. S. Pritchett

Upon publication of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter , Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literary sensation. With its compassionate glimpses into its characters’ inner lives, her story gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated. In The Member of the Wedding , McCullers tells the story of the inimitable twelve-year-old Frankie, who is utterly, hopelessly bored with life until she hears about her older brother’s upcoming marriage. It is a coming-of-age story that showcases McCullers at her most sensitive and enduring best.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

530 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Carson McCullers was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts in a small town of the Southern United States. Her other novels have similar themes. Most are set in the Deep South.
McCullers's work is often described as Southern Gothic and indicative of her Southern roots. Critics also describe her writing and eccentric characters as universal in scope. Her stories have been adapted to stage and film. A stage adaptation of her novel The Member of the Wedding (1946), which captures a young girl's feelings at her brother's wedding, made a successful Broadway run in 1950–51.

Reviews

[ThomasDean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story - a classic of mid-20th century American literature. Four characters come to depend on a mute, deaf man, who seems to them to truly understand them. When they are forced to question this key article of their faith, it changes their lives. 10/10 highly recommend.

[Janis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carson McCullers has a way with words and characters, but the story is sad and not much has improved since the 1940s when it was written. There are still the Mick's, the Dr. Copeland's, and the Willie's who suffer the indignities of poverty and dashed dreams. I reread this book as I am searching for a good selection for my Classic Book Club. I had read this book and all of the other Carson McCuller books about about fifty years ago. The Member of The Wedding was my favorite and this one was my second favorite. I am not sure if Oprah Winfrey's inclusion of this book in her book club brought it back to the book shelves of Barnes & Noble, but it is must read for those who have not yet taken the time to read it.

[Ariel Moyal]

I read this book wanting Southern queer fiction, Southern queer cannon really. It was majorly Southern and subtly queer, devastating and haunting in the most Southern gothic way. McCullers, like Flanner O'Connor in Wise Blood, captures the particular eeriness of the cold wet Southern winter or oppressiveness of the hot sticky summer in a way that unsettles me to read but feels like important witnessing. She captures queer desire in so many characters in a way that is both dated and way ahead of her time- the queerness that cannot be labeled but is defined by an undefinable and expansiveness desire.
This book was hard to read in it's content, but important reading nonetheless.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This too me a long grime to finish. And a long time to get started. It plodded a long unfortunately. At times I was concerned- insinuations of rape and impure thoughts about children... But the author knew not of these things or just decided to not explore them.

In terms of characters this was a very well written book, each character could stand alone and she jumbled from each one's story quite effortlessly.

Overall however it was clunky.

[Bernie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The member of the wedding is the first work by McCullers I’ve read. I found it atmospheric and touching, full of the passions felt by a prepubescent girl, her frustrations and ambitions. I love books set in the Deep South of America set in an earlier decade, this one in the 40s. Liked the language and the feel of this short novel. It had unexpected tension which gripped me. I’m now looking forward to reading her most famous work, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant....couldn't put it down.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful and emotion filled book. A great summer read.

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 23 year old wrote this. Sad story, but excellent writing.

[Elaine Fellenstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t care for it. Maybe I missed something

[Lenhardt Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

In depth portrayal of Southern life at some of its harshest times.

[Monicardz29 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heart is a lonely hunter is a beautiful exploration of the human soul, set in the Deep South of the US. The story is developed at a smooth pace and the characters are complex and unforgettable.

[Caitlín Ní Dochartaigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The member of the wedding 3.75

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I so often do, I became quite obsessed with Carson McCullers on a bit of a whim--in some ways--having worked at a used bookstore for 12 years I saved books with aplomb, grabbing anything I thought was interesting in the moment as well as anything I might want to read later. This system has annoyed most everyone I lived with, especially when it came time to move. Fortunately my current partner is patient and enjoys organizing my collection and appreciates that when a mood strikes, I probably have the book to match. This was why I had a copy of Reflections in a Golden Eye on my shelves. I read through that quickly and adored it. I asked my partner to get me the rest of Carson McCuller's books at his store. Because his employer (Half Price Books) has become more of tchotchkes shop than a bookstore he was unable to find paperback copies of any of Carson McCuller's books as I am sure his store needed plenty of room for paranormal romance and James Patterson. Fortunately someone was kind enough to sell a copy of this collection. It's a pretty little book which contains the two most famous of McCuller's books. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a very apt name--a real gut wrencher of a book. The book follows the lives of several people and how they interact with a deaf mute man that lives in their small Southern town. I do not generally use my reviews to give a synopsis of a book. That is what book jackets are for. I prefer to record my reactions. I found the book to be beautifully written (not surprising), deeply melancholy and best of all, thought provoking. I found myself thinking for days about the messages in this book and it was amazing--a circular hedge maze that could be examined and examined. The effects of loneliness, the practice (which so many of us do and so many of us are victims of) of projection onto other humans (for me the biggest lesson of the book) and how deeply the world can change around us in a short period of time. Saying this I will also admit the book is full of many themes--rather like looking at a box filled with treasures but each person seeing something different. That's a pretty amazing gift--it's understandable why she has not written voraciously as some writers have--her books are so personal and intricate it must have taken a lot out of her to write them. My big complaint here would be that I had a hard time liking Mick Kelly, one of the main characters--I enjoyed that she was a tomboy, I felt compassion that she was a budding musical prodigy with no outlet etc but her personality was so unpleasant at times it was hard to like her. The ending of the book was also very, very dark. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing but it does leave a heavy and rather hopeless sensation in the heart after one finishes reading. That being said, the beauty of so much of the book helps in uplifting your spirits as you think on the book after it's over.
To be totally honest, Member of the Wedding was only slightly less sad. Once you grasp the idea of what's basically going on, you pretty much feel you are on a downward slope with the main character, Frankie Addams, another tomboy with a big, ugly lesson waiting for her. I actually enjoyed the characters that filled Frankie's life more than Frankie herself--her family's maid Berenice and her cousin John Henry who immediately won my undying love by picking up a doll that was given to Frankie as a present that she did not want and proclaiming "I'm going to call her Lily Belle". Love him through the entire book. There is definitely a strong undertone of gender bucking here which I adore--both Frankie and John Henry do not conform to gender stereotypes and Frankie even wishes she could change her gender as one changes clothes. Pretty forward thinking for 1946 in my opinion. As with Mick, she can be difficult to like and insensitive to others--typical teenage characteristics sadly and one of the reasons I did not care for teenagers even when I was one. Again, the book is gorgeous in it's language and descriptions and deeply melancholy. I hope to read the rest of what McCullers has written and I expect it to be as thought provoking and filled with beautiful description and language as everything I have read so far.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 year-old Frankie Adams wanders, without purpose, through a strange, heavy summer. Though she's been a tomboy all her life, this summer she feels uncomfortable in her own skin. She feels disconnected, alienated from the whole town, and spends most of her time in the kitchen, talking and playing cards with John Henry West, her younger cousin, and Bernice, her maid. When Frankie meets her older brother's fiance, suddenly, everything drops into focus, and Frankie becomes obsessed with the wedding. She convinces herself that the three of them are bound together, and that after the wedding, she'll ride off with them, and the three of them will start a new life together.

Of course, things don't quite work out that way. Frankie's struggle with identity plays out both internally and externally, and she tries on names and personalities like she's trying on new hats. This gets her into trouble, eventually. Frankie is such a lost soul, wanting so desperately to feel connected to someone, being inside her head is suffocating. Just like the hot summer, just like the town, just like her body.

McCullers' writing is flawless, gorgeous - I nearly dried out my highlighter, I lit up so many lines. Her atmosphere and setting twine quietly around the themes and characters, and the characters? Man, they live and breathe on the page. Four and a half stars.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter -- was surprised I hadn't read it before. Like good literature I find myself mulling over the characters and ideas, the feelings and emotions of this novel. I enjoyed reading about a time in recent American History where people were playing with the benefits of communism and fascism but ultimately (at least the author suggests) the common people (hence the human heart) never embrace these "ideals". A solid read. I'll never forget the deaf-mute character that holds the story together.

[Saul Cabral · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was cute. It had many characters living in different situations while being in love. Some of the characters have a happy ending, some are freed and others go on lonely.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the kind of book that you have to read several times to really appreciate all the characters. Well written and clearly a classic aka Steinbeck and Harper Lee.

[Lani Kohoutek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Member of the Wedding. I liked this coming of age tale. The atmosphere of a Southern summer is captured in the beautiful prose.

[Nancy Utley · Rating 5 out of 5]

just re-read, still love!