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The heart is maybe a lonely hunter, but it is also a very boring hunter. This book is very (very very) slow, and while McCullers shows how each one of her five protagonists is lonely from very different reasons, the slowness of this book makes it very hard to enjoy. In addition, it is pretty much all over the place, almost no plot to be found. Seems like in the 1940s writers did not have editors (same problem with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which is a much much better book in my opinion, but could use massive editing and shortening).

So while the ideas are quite interesting, the execution is lacking. Each character is found in a state of isolated existence. Inability to speak, a spouse death, differences in intelligence or education level or political point of view. Each of these, and many more reasons can make a person feel lonely.

I know for a fact that some people around the 1940s found good editors (or were just much more talented writers to begin with). 1984 by George Orwell, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner), all of these are timeless books, that are just a treat to read. With outstanding plots, awesome writing and great portraying of characters. Those are books were every page counts, that stay in memory for a lifetime.

I am highly disappointed, 2 stars.