The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers

Carson McCullers "The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe: and Other Stories" is a collection of poignant and beautifully written tales that will leave you feeling both moved and inspired. McCullers masterful storytelling weaves together themes of love, loneliness, and human connection in a way that is both haunting and unforgettable.

Each story in this collection is a gem in its own right, but it is the titular story, "The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe," that truly stands out. The tale of a strange and enigmatic love triangle between a lonely cafe owner, her ex-husband, and a mysterious stranger, this story is a powerful exploration of the complexities of the human heart.

McCullers writing is both lyrical and evocative, drawing the reader into a world that is at once familiar and strange. Her characters are vividly drawn, and their struggles and triumphs will resonate with anyone who has ever felt the ache of loneliness or the joy of connection.

"The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe: and Other Stories" is a timeless classic that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page. It is a reminder of the power of love, the pain of loss, and the beauty of the human spirit. Pick up a copy today and let Carson McCullers words inspire you to see the world in a new light.

Well written. Very much enjoyed the featured story despite the meandering conclusion.

The Ballad of the Sad Café broke my heart. Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon, the Macy brothers, and a cast of other sad characters live in a dreary town. "Not much is there except the cotton mill, the two-room houses where the workers live, a few peach trees, a church with two colored windows, and a miserable main street only a hundred years long....The winters here are short and raw, the summer s white with glare and fiery hot." It doesnt sound like a place I want to visit, let alone live. And yet, even in a dreary little town like this one, there is drama and love and raw human emotion.

What is this thing called love? Who is this hunchback who came into town and bewitched Miss Amelia and awakened the bleak little town? We quickly learn that his name is Cousin Lymon and that he has the ability to make a connection with everyone with whom he comes in contact, including Miss Amelia. Within a short period of time, Miss Amelias store is transformed into a café where the townspeople come together to eat, drink, and be merry. It remains the gathering place until the night that Cousin Lymon shows his true colors.

In her uniquely skillful way, McCullers tells a story of love and the different and surprising twists it can take. Marvin Macy loves Miss Amelia, but she doesnt love him. She, however, comes to love Cousin Lymon who appears to care for her until Marvin Macy comes back into this desolate little town after a stint in the penitentiary. Cousin Lymon then falls for Macy who doesnt give him the proverbial time of day. The plot thickens.

This is not a happily ever after book, but its one well worth reading, especially if you want to see writing at its best. The descriptions of the people and their environment and emotions are superb. For example, after reading this description of Miss Amelia, I think Id recognize her anywhere: "a dark, tall woman with bones and muscles like a man. Her hair was cut short and brushed back from the forehead and there was about her sunburned face a tense, haggard quality. She might have been a handsome woman, if, even then, she was not slightly cross-eyed."

Unrequited love, the need for human contact, revenge, and betrayal are some of the themes that run throughout the book. Reading it reminded me that love can take us to the heights and depths of emotion and that we are just as likely to fall in love with those who are bad for us as with those who are our perfect matches.

I started reading Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories for two reasons. 1. Carson McCullers had authored them and she had written two of my all time favorite books, The Member of the Wedding (read recently) and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (read in high school). 2. Though I prefer novels to short stories, I couldnt pass up a book with the title, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe.

These stories were definitely more revealing of the authors quirkiness than were my two much loved novels. Quirkiness aside, I could read Carson McCullers for her language alone. From the story from which the book gets its name - "It was toward midnight on the soft quiet evening in April. The sky was the color of blue swamp Iris, the moon clear and bright".
"Down by the creek the square brick factory was yellow with light". "His face was both soft and sassy". "It was not a common thing to have an unknown hunchback walk to the store at midnight and then sit down and cry". --why, Id sleep like I was drowned in warm axle grease". "Stumpy MacPhail". These were just some of the characters in Miss Amelias liquor filled Sad Cafe. There were only "3 good people" and "The room was still as death". This story and most of the others put me in mind of O Henrys stories in their artful turn of phrases, unique language and quirkiness of characters and circumstances.

There is humor, drama, ridiculousness, an "interior life that is insufficient without the artifice of alcohol" and an absurd little tale about a callous cafe owner, a man who may or may not be crazy who tells a young boy wearing an aviator type helmet that he loves him.

Like most of McCullers stories, they are about loneliness and love and love loss. However, none of the stories hold a candle to the novels, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter or my favorite, The Member of the Wedding, but they are written by Carson McCullers, reason enough to read them.

The author is one of my favorites. Im really into a Southern Gothic vibe lately, and these six stories fit the bill. They were originally published in the fifties though, so if youre a person who only wants to read modern stuff, maybe this book is not for you. Although youd be missing out, in my opinion, on some great writing.

I have not yet had a chance to read the whole book, but I feel compelled to leave this review so that others who are over 45 years of age may know that the print on this book is VERY TINY. VERY. TINY. If you have older eyes that have trouble with small print, DONT BUY this edition. Look for a large print version or buy it on Kindle where you can change the font size.

These sparely constructed stories of unsatisfied yearning, unrealized hopes, are magnificently— even magisterially done. There are single sentences, even single phrases, that shine forth, demanding not only attention but also placement in the reader’s mind forever. Her early death was a terrific loss for the literary world and readers like us.

All things considered, probably the nearest to perfection you can get in the art of storytelling. "The
Ballad of the Sad Cafe" in
itself, is a story so remarkable it defies the
common senses that we employ even to acknowkedge its awesome
humanness. McCullers is
my favorite because I can
FEEL her, continually manifested in my daily life.

The best story in this book is The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and you have to fill in most of the storyline for yourself. The best of the stories are so poorly written there is nothing to fill in. They have no plot, and no conclusions.

McCullers writes about the existential problem of evil and goodness that lie at he heart of every man. Whats faith? How does trust operate? What is love that enkindles the good that men do. The Café is a microcosm of the real world, where all these questions are answered. The interplay of men and women, wracked first by doubt, then wounded by sinfulness, is enunciated by the author. The resolution towards the end of the novel points to charity as the compensatory gift for men to venture into the fullness of relationships in spite of all existential issues that beset them.