Finally I'll nominate
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. This one is about distancing in that the protagonist is deaf, mute, lonely and is socially distanced from most of those around him, although there are those who are emotionally distanced in one way or another that are drawn to him.
Goodreads,
Preview, 359 pages, 1940, U.S.
Quote:
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Set in a small town in the middle of the deep South, it is the story of John Singer, a lonely deaf-mute, and a disparate group of people who are drawn towards his kind, sympathetic nature. The owner of the café where Singer eats every day, a young girl desperate to grow up, an angry drunkard, a frustrated black doctor: each pours their heart out to Singer, their silent confidant, and he in turn changes their disenchanted lives in ways they could never imagine.
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