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meganlwill 's review for:
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: And Other Stories
by Carson McCullers
McCullers certainly has a knack for writing the tenuous threads of solitary human feeling. There is something about each of her characters in the titular work and the additional short stories that is deeply alone. The threads of feeling seem to reach out just beyond the individual and fall short of true, lasting connection. To be able to write this is masterful. To read this is too melancholic and off-putting of a worldview to be a favorite for me though.
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: southern gothic parable/dark fairytale with the ever fascinating semi-mythical imp of Cousin Lymon, told almost in the style of an oral tradition. Found certain parts of the story very enjoyable to pay attention to, but overall, there seemed to be something lacking to me.
I enjoyed the shorter stories more (though still some more than others). Wunderkind: can feel the growing talent as it was written when she was 17, and there is a feel of that. The Jockey: one of the best of the bunch. Really shows her power for scene setting. Madame Zilensky: she seems to start playing around with the unreliable narrator concept but not in a way that is quite as developed as I’ve seen in other works.
Then we have the powerhouse three to end the book —
The Sojourner: a perfect character and concept for McCullers’s style which really shown through well in this one. The primary focus in this piece is how we feel about lost lives, lost loves, and the people who were once deeply important that have faded away. It’s the sadness of the current multiverse timeline rave but without the chaos, a more solemn attitude.
A Domestic Dilemma: again, an idea well-suited for McCullers with a lonely father working to protect his young, young children from his alcoholic wife. Tender love and deep loneliness. But not an ending I loved much. She should’ve cut that last line instead of explaining away the story.
A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud: probably my favorite. Good main characters and a significant amount of dialogue (the latter a bit rare in McCullers it seems). Something magnetic about this one (though again, not my fav ending).
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: southern gothic parable/dark fairytale with the ever fascinating semi-mythical imp of Cousin Lymon, told almost in the style of an oral tradition. Found certain parts of the story very enjoyable to pay attention to, but overall, there seemed to be something lacking to me.
I enjoyed the shorter stories more (though still some more than others). Wunderkind: can feel the growing talent as it was written when she was 17, and there is a feel of that. The Jockey: one of the best of the bunch. Really shows her power for scene setting. Madame Zilensky: she seems to start playing around with the unreliable narrator concept but not in a way that is quite as developed as I’ve seen in other works.
Then we have the powerhouse three to end the book —
The Sojourner: a perfect character and concept for McCullers’s style which really shown through well in this one. The primary focus in this piece is how we feel about lost lives, lost loves, and the people who were once deeply important that have faded away. It’s the sadness of the current multiverse timeline rave but without the chaos, a more solemn attitude.
A Domestic Dilemma: again, an idea well-suited for McCullers with a lonely father working to protect his young, young children from his alcoholic wife. Tender love and deep loneliness. But not an ending I loved much. She should’ve cut that last line instead of explaining away the story.
A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud: probably my favorite. Good main characters and a significant amount of dialogue (the latter a bit rare in McCullers it seems). Something magnetic about this one (though again, not my fav ending).