The 26th episode of the Great American Novel Podcast delves into Carson McCullers’ 1940 debut novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Published when the author was only 23, the novel tells the tale of a variety of misfits who don’t seem to belong in their small milltown in depression-era, 1930s Georgia. Tackling race, disability, sexuality, classism, socialism, the novel catapulted McCullers to fame. It’s been an Oprah book and it’s been adapted to film. The Modern Library chose it for its list of 100 best novels in English of the 20th Century. But the question asked by your intrepid hosts is this: is it truly a great American novel?
The Great American Novel podcast is an ongoing discussion about the novels we hold up as significant achievements in our American literary culture. Additionally, we sometimes suggest novels who should break into the sometimes problematical canon and at other times we’ll suggest books which can be dropped from such lofty consideration. Your hosts are Kirk Curnutt and Scott Yarbrough, professors with little time and less sense who nonetheless enjoy a good book banter. All opinions are their own and do not reflect the points of view of their employers, publishers, relatives, pets, or accountants.
Intro and outro music is by Lobo Loco. The intro song is “Old Ralley,” and the outro is “Inspector Invisible.” For more information visit: https://locolobomusic.com/. Clip from the trailer for the 1968 film The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, directed by Robert Ellis Miller, with lines spoken by Sondra Locke.
We may be contacted at greatamericannovelpodcast (@) gmail.com.
Episode 27: Filtering the Static in Don DeLillo's WHITE NOISE
Episode 25: Surmising the Motives in Henry James's THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
Episode 24: Speeding Down the Highway with PLAY IT AS IT LAYS by Joan Didion
Episode 23: Hearing Voices in William Faulkner's AS I LAY DYING
Episode 22: Rambling Along the REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Defining Dignity through Service in Ernest J. Gaines' A LESSON BEFORE DYING
Episode 20: Cracking Through the Scrub with THE YEARLING
Episode 19: Riding the Rocket with Thomas Pynchon's GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
Episode 18: We Want to Fly Away with Chopin's THE AWAKENING
Ep 17: Pursuing the Picaro in Saul Bellow's THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH
Episode 16: Classics of American Noir
Searching for the Ghost of Tom Joad in John Steinbeck's THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Episode 14: Ride into the sun--Cormac McCarthy's BLOOD MERIDIAN
Homing in on the Prairie with Willa Cather's My Ántonia
Episode 12: Hitting the Road with LOLITA
The Everyday Ecstasy of Marilynne Robinsone's GILEAD
Episode 10: Finding the Lost Generation in Hemingway's THE SUN ALSO RISES
Episode 9: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Episode 8: Beloved and Ghosts of the Past, the Present, and Possibly the Future
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
50 Tastes Of Gray
Dear Alice | Interior Design
Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast
The War of the Worlds
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Magnus Archives
The Moth