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The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
- Narrated by: Cherry Jones
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
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Publisher's summary
Richard Wright was astonished by McCullers's ability "to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness." Hers is a humanity that touches all who come to her work, whether for the first time or, as so many do, time and time again. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is Carson McCullers at her most compassionate, most enduring best.
Critic reviews
- Audie Award Finalist, Classics, 2005
"A remarkable book...[McCullers writes] with a sweep and certainty that are overwhelming." (The New York Times)
Featured Article: Who's the best? Rediscover the greatest, most notable American writers of all time
To curate a list of famous American writers who are also considered among the best American authors, a few things count: current ratings for their works, their particular time periods in history, critical reception, their prevalence in the 21st century, and yes, the awards they won. Many of these authors are taught in school today. From Hemingway to Harper Lee, these famous American authors are all worthy of enduring recognition—and a fresh listen!
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In the classic work that launched a play, a movie, and a song, Muriel Spark tells the darkly intriguing story of an eccentric Edinburgh teacher and the intense relationship she develops with six of her students. The scandalously outspoken Miss Brodie makes big waves in the conservative Scottish school, preaching the value of art, passion, and daring.
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creme de la creme
- By Kathleen on 01-04-08
By: Muriel Spark
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The Sound and the Fury
- By: William Faulkner
- Narrated by: Deaver Brown
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A deep American South novel about a black & white intertwined in a relationship living in one house with various goings-on Southern style.
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Narrator sounds drunk
- By LT on 07-11-24
By: William Faulkner
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Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
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Simply a classic
- By Noah Smith on 11-11-10
By: Richard Wright
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The Wings of the Dove
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Milly Theale is a young, beautiful, and fabulously wealthy American. When she arrives in London and meets the equally beautiful but impoverished Kate Croy, they form an intimate friendship. But nothing is as it seems: materialism, romance, self-delusion, and ultimately fatal illness insidiously contaminate the glamorous social whirl.
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Not an easy read but SO worth it!
- By Julie Gray on 10-31-17
By: Henry James
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A House for Mr. Biswas
- By: V. S. Naipaul
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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A House for Mr. Biswas, by Nobel and Booker Prize-winning author V. S. Naipaul, is a powerful novel about one man's struggle for identity and belonging. Born into poverty, then trapped in the shackles of charity and gratitude, Mr. Biswas longs for a house he can call his own. He loathes his wife and her wealthy family, upon whom he is dependent. Finding himself a mere accessory on their estate, his constant rebellion is motivated by the one thing that can symbolize his independence.
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Performance makes a fatal mistake. No Trini accent
- By Christopher on 01-04-19
By: V. S. Naipaul
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We Were the Mulvaneys
- By: Joyce Carol Oates
- Narrated by: Scott Shina
- Length: 22 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Judd is the youngest of the four Mulvaney children - three boys and a girl - on their parents’ lush farm in upstate New York. In his childhood, Judd is swept along by the sheer energy of the Mulvaneys and their wealth of beloved family stories. But now, 30 years old, Judd looks back through his memories to tell the secrets that eventually ripped apart the fabric of his storybook family.
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Overlooked Masterpiece
- By Jason on 10-26-12
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The Sound and the Fury
- By: William Faulkner
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The Sound and the Fury is the tragedy of the Compson family, featuring some of the most memorable characters in literature: beautiful, rebellious Caddy; the manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey, their black servant. Their lives fragmented and harrowed by history and legacy, the character’s voices and actions mesh to create what is arguably Faulkner’s masterpiece and one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.
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Hang in
- By W.Denis on 07-11-05
By: William Faulkner
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How Green Was My Valley
- By: Richard Llewellyn
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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How Green Was My Valley is Richard Llewellyn’s best-selling - and timeless - classic, as well as the basis of a beloved film. As Huw Morgan is about to leave home forever, he reminisces about the golden days of his youth when South Wales still prospered, when coal dust had not yet blackened the valley. Drawn simply and lovingly, with a crisp Welsh humor, Llewellyn’s characters fight, love, laugh, and cry, creating an indelible portrait of a people. Richard Llewellyn (1906–1983), a Welsh novelist, was born in Hendon, England, in the county of Middlesex.
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The rhythm of life... the pattern of words...
- By Jan on 04-16-13
What listeners say about The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. J. Holland
- 08-12-21
Carson and Cherry Are Perfection!
Southern fiction can either be a marvel or too trite to endure. The best southern writers combine the grotesque and the beautiful with skill and heart. Carson McCullers is one such writer. Her characters are layered and complicated, flawed and hilarious. Her prose, alone, is mesmerizing but read by actress Cherry Jones it’s almost painfully good. Jones PERFORMED this book. She brought such life to these characters that I had to replay parts just to bask in the richness. This has to be one of my favorite books - up there with To Kill a Mockingbird, Jude the Obscure, and Stoner. Hearing it read by Cherry Jones made it an experience that I’ll always remember.
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- Karen Amelia
- 08-06-19
Amazing storyteller
This story caught my interest in the first minute and held my interest to the very end , and left an open endedness which I really appreciated. I liked the complexity of the characters, and I liked getting a glimpse into a world so different from ours today- no distractions of technology and entertainment to distract from existential suffering. Loved that about the book. Also, it exposed America's fundamental flaw of racism - the poignant, heartbreaking depiction of southern Jim Crow and the tragic specifics. Suddenly, for me, that's what the book was primarily about. McCullers really approached this topic with open eyes and heart.
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- joe stallings
- 01-16-17
The Heart....
This was an excellent book the words were poetry the narrator was the best ever. I will always remember this book.
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- Schuyler Corry
- 04-09-24
Left me wanting more
A collection of endearing yet flawed characters. Deaf mute Mr. Singer is a living Rorschach test. Everyone sees in him what they want to see. He is a hub connecting a group of social outsiders in a small Georgia town. Great narration and story.
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- Hotspur
- 07-24-24
Great performance
Lovely reading by Cherry Jones. Her voice is the best way to experience a classic like this.
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- Kelly
- 05-19-17
Provocative book, Exquisitely read by Jones!
I find it nearly impossible to think that I have lived almost 55 years without having read this beautiful book. In fact, I am not certain that I had ever heard of either Carson McCullers or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter! And now some other book must be shoved off the my top 100 list to make room for this one.
Carson Mccullers at age 23 has the understanding and wisdom that many never achieve. She had a deep insight into the human condition and an ability to write about it with a simple and moving style... something many writers take years to achieve. Her book touched my heart and made me think in the same way the John Steinbeck, John Irving and Pat Conroy do. How does someone so young relate to the darkness, sadness and tragedy of life? How did she understand it so well?
McCullers wrote about sadness... about people who are unhappy with their place in life, who feel isolated and lonely, about unhappiness caused by racism, religion and government. But what she did that touched me more was to allow the reader to feel what the characters felt. If you read books for intricate and complex plot lines you may be disappointed in this book because it is quiet and simple. Not a great deal happens. But if you read books because you like characters and the way they make you feel and think you will love this book.
Oh, and one more thing... the climax of this book is shocking, tragic and will stay with you long after you read it. I will never forget it. McCullers took my heart and ripped it from my chest. Only a few other authors have done that before.
Cherry Jones' narration is perfect. She allowed the reader to grieve alongside the characters. The accents and tones she used were nuanced and restrained. Her narration allowed the book to stand as the painful and biting work that it is meant to be. I will certainly be looking to see what else she has recorded.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Kevin G. Slavens
- 03-17-10
Great Book - Fantastic Narration
Five or so years before she received a well-deserved Best Actress Emmy for her work on 24, Cherry Jones narrated this wonderful piece of American fiction. Her interpretation of all the characters is incredible. One really gets a sense of the emotion of each person portrayed, and, very importantly, in a manner that reflects the time. One note to prospective readers would be to recognize that much of the content is in subtext and various hints rather than overt statements.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Lynn
- 11-08-05
Rich in character but not too exciting.
A rich, colorful painting of a southern town and all of its people. A snapshot of the lives of both white and black, educated and non-educated.
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3 people found this helpful
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- InADaze
- 10-22-04
INTERESTING
Cherry Jones was FANTASTIC in her narration of this book. The writer as well as the reader did a wonderful job in blending and helping develop each character so that you felt you knew them. It is a must read book. Thanks audible!
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2 people found this helpful
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- LizzyBethC
- 11-27-20
Snapshot of 1930s South
I had never heard of this book, but it is #17 on the Modern Library's list of 100 best English fiction of the 20th century, so I took a chance.
The title comes from the poem "The Lonely Hunter" by the Scottish poet William Sharp, who used the pseudonym "Fiona MacLeod". “Deep in the heart of Summer, sweet is life to me still, But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.” - Wikipedia
The story, spanning 1 year, seems to revolve around a deaf mute man who becomes a sounding board for almost everyone he meets. The main characters are all very different (race, socioeconomic, age and gender) and how they interact with each other and the deaf mute held my interest throughout this quietly thoughtful book. Sometimes, this look back at how Whites view Blacks (and vice versa) and words used seem so shocking now, but it's good to remember since we are still trying to evolve and 2020 has shown us, if anything, we might not have made the progress we thought.
As a 64 y/o woman, I could easily remember the young woman's intense feelings of love, anger, confusion, confidence, loss, and intense attraction to discovering music. The older characters also experience life's ebb and flow, and their feelings and subsequent decisions in response to their own life's connections are relatable and heartbreaking.
The narrator was very good, although sometimes it was difficult to distinguish 2 voices in the same conversation. I thought her portrayal of each character was done well without gross exaggeration of accents.
This book sailed along pretty quickly - one of those I end up putting in my pocket to listen as I go about my day - and quickly connect in the car even when going to the grocery 3 minutes away.
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1 person found this helpful