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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
The title story is excellent but the subsequent, shorter stories were, comparatively, disappointing. A couple were unfortunately boring. They lack the largeness of the title story because they’re too in the head of the protagonist. I didn’t connect with it care about most of the characters. But “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe” was worth the time reading.
ballad of the sad café - by far the best work in here. i think this was on my tbr since taking gothic lit in 2018. there’s something so compelling to me about southern gothic but that’s almost certainly because i am from the south. i think what this short story lacks in the suspense and uncanniness and perhaps big reveal of many gothic works, it makes up for in atmosphere and introspection. 4/5?
wunderkind - this was good? fine? it was only the second short story in here and i didn’t know much of mcculler’s writing beyond ballad of the sad café, so i was honestly a little confused. it’s kinda just < 10 pages of the burnout of a child prodigy, which i think i related too almost too much (not calling myself a prodigy but having the label of gifted and also dancing constantly) that the whole thing just seemed to obvious to me
wunderkind - this was good? fine? it was only the second short story in here and i didn’t know much of mcculler’s writing beyond ballad of the sad café, so i was honestly a little confused. it’s kinda just < 10 pages of the burnout of a child prodigy, which i think i related too almost too much (not calling myself a prodigy but having the label of gifted and also dancing constantly) that the whole thing just seemed to obvious to me
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I held my breath for all of 'A domestic dilemma'.
ABSOLUTELY perfect and beautiful, with the exception of The Jockey, which just felt too brief to connect with in the same way. I know I'll be thinking about these stories and this brilliant writing forever.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
The Ballad of the Sad Café is a novella that opens the 1953 collection of Carson McCullers stories of the same name. It is a queer tale of a woman, Miss Amelia, who takes in a man, problematically referred to as “the hunchback”, out of a strange, unrequited love which inevitably leads to trouble. It is notable for depicting a small Georgian town, listless and dull under hot sultry weather, populated by odd, desperate characters. Other stories include: Wunderkind about lost innocence; Madame Zilensky and the King of Finland about a mysterious music teacher; The Sojourner, on the transience of life; and A Tree, a Rock, a Cloud with its portrait of loneliness and heartbreak.