Carson McCullers

Six stories including Wunderkind, A Domestic Dilemma, and The Sojourner accompany the novella about shattered dreams in a small Southern town

The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories

The ballad of the sad café and other stories

Marisel 

My least favorite work by one of my most favorite writers. I found these short stories ranging from sad and disturbing to annoyingly incomprehensible. The namesake for the collection is the best of the lot, primarily because I felt led to care about the characters, but because of this I found the story utterly depressing. The plot I found somewhat disturbingly predictable. The rest of the stories, with the exception of The Sojourner (my favorite of the lot), —though the writing was beautiful, as always, left me completely disinterested.

Isabela H 

I genuinely enjoyed the feelings that this book gave me, and I'm looking forward to participating in academic discussions about it, but this is definitely not a book I would have picked up to read for myself.

The ballad of the sad café and other stories.

Alexia

Quite disappointing. 2.5 stars, actually.

McCuller's had a nice writing style, but the stories themseles didn't grip me. They were rather boring, except for the last one ─A Tree - a Rock - a Cloud─, which was jut OK.
I'll probably give he another go if I manage to find a copy of Clock Without Hands, It sounds more interesting than this one. We'll see.

Laura Leila Marta

Andrea Badgley

McCullers, known for Southern Gothic fiction, was born in Columbus, Georgia. McCullers felt “other” as a young woman growing up in the South, and with outcast characters, she explores that isolation and deep desire for connection in her fiction. The Ballad of the Sad Café is a beautiful, haunting novella of unrequited love involving a huge manly woman, a hunchbacked midget, and an ex-con, and which climaxes in a small-town brawl.

The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories

Reviews