This is a classic example of a Southern gothic novel. John Singer, a deaf and mute man whose closest friend is sent to a mental hospital, becomes a confidant for various outcasts--a lonely teenage girl, an alcoholic socialist, a black doctor who is estranged from his family--in a 1930s Georgia mill town. Each one seems to believe that Singer understands them as they pour their hearts out to him. He may be a good listener but he really cares only for one man, his hospitalized friend. It's been years since I read this but I still remember how dark and depressing yet powerful this novel is. I bought this copy for about a dollar or two from one of those tables that are always set up near NYU. They always have the best stuff for next to nothing!
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