Hux
-
Posts
475 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Books
Posts posted by Hux
-
-
Tickety tock look at the clock..
I think that it's time to get ready to rock
Now here comes the answer
-
Jock was a cocky from Oz
His fave Dickens' character, Boz.....
On reading the novel
-
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940) Carson McCullers
A superb exploration of loneliness and the roles we are forced to play.
The book revolves around a deaf/mute named John Singer. After his friend (also a deaf/mute) is put into an institution, Singer moves into a new room where, slowly but surely, four characters come to view him as a kind of spiritual leader. They go to him to tell of their woes, their frustrations, their dreams. Because he can't speak, he is forced into the role of listener (whether her wants to be or not) and they quickly transform him into a blank canvas for their worldview. Unbeknownst to them, however, Singer also has a life. He too requires a figure in his life whom can give meaning to his loneliness (this being his deaf/mute friend). That Singer has his own life never occurs to them. He has been unpersoned by them in their desire for him to have the answers.
The four of them begin to visit him on a regular basis. First, there is Biff the café owner who represents the middle-class view. Then Jake Blount, the working-class alcoholic. Then Dr. Copeland, the African American idealist. And finally, Mick, a young girl who dreams of being a musician but who is inevitably forced into conforming towards a more conventional role as a woman.
Each of these people are oppressed by the role they must play in life. Blount and Copeland seek answers in a simplistic and utopian form of Marxism. Mick in romantic ideals and Biff, the most important character in my opinion, in hoping for a better tomorrow.
The writing is wonderful, full of fluid and detached prose which works perfectly (despite often not being my cup of tea). McCullers has a great gift for telling a character's story whilst simultaneously placing you in another moment. She can switch between the two with ease. The narrative flows nicely and slowly builds a realistic world. At no point does she throw in an affair or a murder. The book essentially has no plot (my preferred type) and simply tells a self-contained story of lonely people looking to escape the chains that life has put them in.
I interpreted the ending as ultimately pessimistic though. It ends with Mick showing signs of slowly conforming to her role as a socially acceptable female. She now wears earrings, has embraced the 9 to 5, and is moving away from her tomboy persona. Some may view this as a positive (that she is blossoming) but I saw it as Mick succumbing to the social norms, to the daily grind.
Because, eventually, we all do.
A fantastic debut novel. Highly recommended.8/10
-
A superb exploration of loneliness and the roles we are forced to play.
The book revolves around a deaf/mute named John Singer. After his friend (also a deaf/mute) is put into an institution, Singer moves into a new room where, slowly but surely, four characters come to view him as a kind of spiritual leader. They go to him to tell of their woes, their frustrations, their dreams. Because he can't speak, he is forced into the role of listener (whether her wants to be or not) and they quickly transform him into a blank canvas for their worldview. Unbeknownst to them, however, Singer also has a life. He too requires a figure in his life whom can give meaning to his loneliness (this being his deaf/mute friend). That Singer has his own life never occurs to them. He has been unpersoned by them in their desire for him to have the answers.
The four of them begin to visit him on a regular basis. First, there is Biff the café owner who represents the middle-class view. Then Jake Blount, the working-class alcoholic. Then Dr. Copeland, the African American idealist. And finally, Mick, a young girl who dreams of being a musician but who is inevitably forced into conforming towards a more conventional role as a woman.
Each of these people are oppressed by the role they must play in life. Blount and Copeland seek answers in a simplistic and utopian form of Marxism. Mick in romantic ideals and Biff, the most important character in my opinion, in hoping for a better tomorrow.
The writing is wonderful, full of fluid and detached prose which works perfectly (despite often not being my cup of tea). McCullers has a great gift for telling a character's story whilst simultaneously placing you in another moment. She can switch between the two with ease. The narrative flows nicely and slowly builds a realistic world. At no point does she throw in an affair or a murder. The book essentially has no plot (my preferred type) and simply tells a self-contained story of lonely people looking to escape the chains that life has put them in.
I interpreted the ending as ultimately pessimistic though. It ends with Mick showing signs of slowly conforming to her role as a socially acceptable female. She now wears earrings, has embraced the 9 to 5, and is moving away from her tomboy persona. Some may view this as a positive (that she is blossoming) but I saw it as Mick succumbing to the social norms, to the daily grind.
Because, eventually, we all do.
A fantastic debut novel. Highly recommended.8/10
-
Fe fi fo fum.......
Said the father of a missing nun
-
I love spaghetti the best
I dribble sauce down my vest
Now I'll have a plateful...
And be forever grateful
-
If there's something I like in a book I usually just take a note of the page number.
-
There was a young man from Glasgow ......
Who triggered a global fiasco
-
2 hours ago, Hayley said:
Maybe disturbing was the wrong word, it has negative connotations that I didn't actually mean. The film looks really intriguing. Haunting was probably closer to what I meant. It is beautiful but it has a surreal quality and it feels quite emotionally complicated, if that makes sense.
Disturbing works as a description. It's all of those things.
-
1 hour ago, Hayley said:
Madeleine's films are the only ones so far that I've actually seen but I'm discovering a lot of lovely new music from this thread!
I know it's the point, so cleverly done, but this is really intense and kind of disturbing!
It's a beautiful film with a beautiful score.
About a woman who discovers she has a strange connection with an identical doppelganger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqcgpRf31zU
-
Wilhelmina would just stand and stare
At something they was barely there
On closer inspection
-
A time when there was no war..
So peaceful it would make you snore
The bombs were unused
-
-
A grumpy old soldier named Billy...
Looked down in his trousers when chilly
But what he saw there....
He just couldn't bear
A peanut instead of a willy
There once was a lad at the zoo
-
A grumpy old soldier named Billy...
Looked down in his trousers when chilly
-
When Margaret discovered S&M
She started to raise her hem
A man called Steve
-
25 minutes ago, France said:
Let's agree to disagree on that one! What I really enjoy about most book groups if that in general people don't feel that you're attcking them personally if you don't share their opinion or liking for a book. Unlike most Facebook groups! (And a real life book group where one of the members got furiously angry when you didn't agree with her.)
What?
-
Looks like I've won.
-
Young Fred had a thing about trains
He was not, though, equipped with much brains..
He liked to choo choo
Like a demented gnu
Before having a nap in the drains
When Margaret discovered S&M
-
The lack of speech marks was probably the only thing I liked. 😂
-
Oh right.
One morning on the Scarborough sands
-
With my appetite sated by chocs
I can't even fit in my socks!
A good diet is required
But I'm far too tired
And my urge for food never stops
-
Some people who think they are funny
Should be given a run for their money
With a competitive streak
-
2 hours ago, Hayley said:
I considered buying this when it first came out but had heard that it didn’t quite work in parts. Interesting that you think it’s worth reading despite that. Maybe this year I’ll give it a try
It's worth reading in so much as it's quite a unique narrative. And the writing is of a high standard. That still doesn't necessarily mean you'll like it though.
I've certainly read a lot worse.
The Limerick Game
in Quiz Room / Thread Games Jokes etc
Posted
There once was a man who stole stamps
From the distracted clients of holiday camps