Erie Reader Book Club: September 2025
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
SUNDAY, SEPT. 28
The Erie Reader Book Club will be reading and discussing the novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers in correspondence with the Back to School Erie Reader issue.
The school year often brings feelings of nostalgia for many adults, thinking back to a time when they themselves were headed back to classes, reading, and learning, with dreams of success on their minds. This month's selection was the first novel of a young writer – at the time of its publication, McCullers was only 23 years old.
Set in a small town in the Deep South, the story follows John Singer, a sympathetic and kind deaf man to whom the town finds themselves drawn. Although John lacks verbal responses to the struggles of those that visit with him, the people of the town still feel he has a unique understanding of their difficulties and continue to confide in him.
What follows is a story of those who are lost and hoping to find their way, leaning on a man who himself struggles with the loneliness brought on by his place in the world and the loss of a friend with whom he shared so much. McCullers gives voice to those who feel forgotten, bringing to life a story that has stood the test of time and cemented itself as one of the great American classics.
1 p.m. // Werner Books and Coffee, 3608 Liberty St. // Free to join, cost of book not included // For more info: wernerbooks.com
