Name: Cyrano de Bergerac (Ilustrado)
Rating: 3.926470588235294 (170 reviews)
ISBN: 9781549878442

Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand

Cl�ssico do teatro franc�s e mundial. Pe�a em cinco atos.*Adaptado ao novo acordo ortogr�fico da l�ngua portuguesa*Com �ndice Ativo

Cyrano de Bergerac (Ilustrado)

Carson McCullers

The heart is a lonely hunter

A story of a person who has mastered attention (in the Weil-ian sense) but is surrounded by people who can't offer him the same. It's depressing, brilliant, and quintessentially American.

elizabeth

Colton Ray

What can I say except that it is one of the best books I've read? Draws you in and doesn't let go. Filled with beautiful and heartbreaking writing and characters. This is the kind of novel I see myself returning to time and again and uncovering new meaning each time.

Edmond Rostand

Heroic Comedy in Five Acts

Cyrano de Bergerac

Sarah Sammis

I've reread this novel a number of times. It holds up.

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
*An insightful exploration of human nature*
 

This was the first book by Carson McCullers that I’ve read. And there are many impressive things about this classic tale. First off, this was a debut novel, and it was published when the author was only twenty-three! McCullers certainly has the insight of an old soul. Her writing shows an emotional maturity and an empathy for humanity. The comparisons to John Steinbeck make sense both because of her down to earth, brusque writing style and because of the content being centered on the impoverished American South.
 
One thing I love about reading classics is how they demonstrate the more things change, the more they stay the same. Yes, there are many things about the time period of this book that are drastically different than today. But there are many things – both good and bad – that remain the same. Human nature, oppression, working to live just so you can die. Each generation likes to think that they are the first to experience the highs and lows of life or that they experience them more strongly than those who came before them. But reading old books shows you that all that joy and heartache, the dreams and disappointments, the triumphs and struggles have been experienced by countless people before you. And those emotions will be experienced by countless generations after you.
 

  “The people dreamed and fought and slept as much as ever. And by habit they shortened their thoughts so that they would not wander out into the darkness beyond tomorrow.”

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was first published in 1940 and provides a fascinating look into the times. The world sat on the brink of the worst war in history. And that does have a huge impact on this story. Fascism is discussed in depth. Hilter and the mistreatment of Jews is mentioned repeatedly. And yet there is also an insular focus on the characters’ mundane day-to-day lives. The story is set in a small, impoverished town in the South. People are still reeling from the Great Depression. They’re struggling to make the best of their lives, nurturing hopes and dreams while trying to make ends meet. The story is a wonderful peek into the past. Certain things stand out – whether it’s how much you could buy for a dollar (and how comparatively low wages were) to children being able to buy cigarettes and beer – it was so interesting to look at everyday life in that time period.
 
The story is very much a slow character exploration. There is almost no plot. At the crux of the story is John Singer – a deaf man who stands as the keystone to the other characters. Considering the time when this was written, it was almost unheard of to include any diversity in novels. Having a deaf character (particularly one written as smart and compassionate rather than mentally handicapped) was sadly uncommon. Singer’s character also provided a mirror for the other characters that allowed the author to explore their psyche. Each character sees the world (and Singer) as a reflection of themselves and uses him for their own validations. As the title indicates, this is a story focuses on loneliness and the many ways it can affect one’s life.
 

   “In his face there came to be a brooding peace that is seen most often in the faces of the very sorrowful or the very wise. But still he wandered through the streets of the town, always silent and alone.” 

McCullers certainly didn’t shy away from controversial subjects. Not only did she feature a deaf main character, she also blatantly discussed racism and poverty as well as religion and political issues. The characters demonstrate the ways that passion can morph into obsession and madness.
 
While this story had many fascinating elements, it never connected with me on any deeper, emotional level. I remained strangely disconnected the entire book. The writing style features beautiful and insightful phrases contrasted with vulgar bluntness. There were many quotes I wanted to save. There were also times when I found the writing off-putting. But the biggest problem was that the story lacked any emotional connect to me. I enjoyed it on an intellectual level, but I felt no emotional bond to the characters. Part of this may have been that I went into the story expecting to be moved, so it felt all the more disappointing when I wasn’t.
 
The story starts to drag in the middle. I mentioned that there is very little plot. So I found my interest wavering at times. Thankfully it isn’t a long book, so I was still able to finish it quickly. Aside from the emotional disconnect and the lack of plot, there was far too much proselytization. I know that was the point, but it made the story tedious at times. There is one scene where two characters are literally shouting their opposing views simultaneously and it just turned into this exhausting mess. I couldn’t wait for that chapter to end.
 
The overall effect was mixed for me, and I’m still waffling about my rating. There were parts of this story that were insightful, powerful, and beautifully written. But other parts were drawn-out and boring. And the biggest disappointment remains the lack of emotional impact to me. I think this is a great piece to read and discuss for its place in both literature and history. But sadly, it didn’t come anywhere close to hitting my Favorites shelf. Although I would recommend The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, my reflections on this book are always going to contain a thread of disappointment.

 
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Gia Palamos

I had no idea what this book was about when I started reading it and it surprised me in so many ways. Carson McCullers wrote about the injustices, inequality and racism during her time and it still holds true today. Chapters 6, 10, 13 and 15 broke me.

Jeannette Ordas

This took me a long time to get through, probably because I wasn't truly captivated by the book. That said, I did think it was a good read and beautifully written. While I liked getting to know these outcast and lonely characters in the South, the one I was most interested in was Mick.

Matthew Rasnake

Why do I feel like I just finished a 359 page novelization of a depressing Seinfeld episode?

Kirsten Simkiss

For the record, I was reading the Helen Dole translation.

A tragic tale of love and confidence. Two men very much in love, but both with loss of confidences that just so happen to align - a team effort that was always doomed to fail. Together, they woo a woman they both love and admire, and therein lies the story of the play. It's a beautiful and sorrowful story. 

While I am unfortunately stuck reading a translation and could not even hope to read the original as I don't speak a lick of French, I enjoyed the story. I'm not sure I've ever encountered another one quite like it, even with as many books and as many films as I have consumed in my lifetime. I can see why it has lasted so long as a classic play.

alina s

this book got published decades ago but is still relevant cause nothing has changed about racism and capitalism in America (clown emoji)

Irene Alegre

This was boring. Dull. I might have read at the wrong time, the wrong way, because it looks like I'm in the minority here, but I didn't like this novel. It's not that it has disappointed me, or that I expected more from it than what I got. I got what I expected, and I like the concept of the book. I think it's beautifully written, and Mick Kelly in particular sounds like a very human, realistic character. The way she thinks about music, and the way she dreams about her future, and her ambition to live different things, to see the snow, and live somewhere else, and learn to write music. And then the last scenes with Harry, you could see what was going to happen, you could feel it, that pubescent curiosity, the initiation to sexuality, the children that want to act like adults and when they do, they become adults that would rather go back to being children. 

And yet it's taken me a whole month to read this rather short novel, which is not a good thing to say about a book. It made me sleepy. It didn't trap me except for a few pages. I kept reading, waiting for the final light, the big surprise, the pages that would make me change my mind, but those never arrived. And in that sense, I am disappointed.

Cyrano de Bergerac (Ilustrado)

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