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The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH WunderkindSnagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here!  List Price: £8.99 Amazon.co.uk's Price: £6.99 You Save: £2.00 (22%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 813 EAN: 9780140282726 Edition: New Ed ISBN: 0140282726 Label: Penguin Manufacturer: Penguin Number Of Pages: 160 Publication Date: February 25, 1999 Publisher: Penguin Studio: Penguin Related Items:
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Beautifully written prose, odd characterisationThis novella by Carson McCullers is certainly distinctive, boasting some of the most beautifully-written and authentic prose I have ever read. It concerns an odd character named Amelia, a woman who lives in a tiny American hamlet. Some years after an incredibly short marriage to a vile man named Marvin, a new man enters Amelia's life in the shape of a hunchback named Lymon who claims to be some distant cousin of Amelia's. The hunchback has a profound effect on Amelia and she falls in love with him. It is at this stage in her life that she opens a cafe, which becomes the heart of the town, incredibly popular and atmospheric. McCullers writes about the nature of love in an acutely touching way. Her descriptions of how a bad penny like Marvin falls for Amelia and is reduced to someone lovelorn and meek in her presence is very affecting and real, something that most people can relate to. So too is Amelia's fascination with Lymon the hunchback, and her affection/love for him. Another of the novella's attributes, as I have mentioned, is the natural and effortless beauty of the prose. McCuller's describes places, weather, people and events in a thoroughly unconventional, detailed and striking way, using some truly beautiful and inspired imagery. There is no doubt that McCullers is a naturally gifted writer. Yet there were things about this novella which bothered me greatly. The main thing was the characterisation. McCullers descriptions of all of the three main characters makes them sound like absolute freaks which virtually no-one would be able to relate to. Amelia is described as tall, and McCullers conveys this in a way which makes Amelia sound like a circus freakshow, which tall women clearly aren't. Undoubtedly, some tall women can be clumsy, but McCuller's descriptions of Amelia dressing in men's clothing and boxing do not ring true and are distinctly unbelievable. Without stereotyping, it is a great leap for the reader to have much belief in a female character who is clearly supposed to be heterosexual, yet chooses to wear men's clothing and get into physical fights with men. It simply doesn't ring true. The characterisation of Lymon, too is distinctly far-fetched and alien. He's portrayed as a downright weirdo; an attention-seeking, shambling freak of a human being who talks to himself and behaves in a way which can best be described as repugnant. Yet we as readers are supposed to believe that he manages to capture the heart of a woman twice his height? Far-fecthed doesn't even begin to describe the relations between characters here. All of this culminates in the return of Marvin Macy, and it is this event which truly leads the relations between characters down Weird Street. After Marvin punches Lymon in the face for absolutely no reason, Lymon then becomes fixated and obsessed by Marvin, following him everywhere. Then McCullers begins to describe the tension and hatred between Marvin and Amelia, but also Lymon's apparent love for Marvin. After a fashion, a boxing match is then planned between Amelia and Marvin. This is deeply insulting towards tall women, and somehow implies that tall women are by their very nature aggressive and/or more suited towards physical fighting than smaller women. Besides which, the very inclusion of violence against women in any form is deeply irresponsible and to somehow condone it defies belief. It simply isn't the case that taller women are somehow more suited towards bare-knuckle fighting simply because they are tall. Height isn't what matters in a fight - it's muscle definition that counts, of which men have significantly more than women. One of the most unconvincing events at this point in the book is Lymon's intervention in the fight between Marvin and Amelia, as McCullers describes him jumping on Amelia's back and pinning her to the ground, helping Marvin violently beat her. I found this not only unbelievable, but very distasteful. The man who has had the hospitality and love of Amelia for several years suddenly turns on her violently for no apparent reason? Wouldn't this strike YOU as unconvincing? All of this made it incredibly difficult for me to relate to any of the characters, and especially difficult to like them. They simply weren't portrayed in a believable way, and their oddness wasn't charming, but alien. I felt no rapport, no connection. Which is a shame, because in other ways, Carson McCullers is a wonderfully talented writer. Her recognition and description of unrequited love is touching and deft, engaging and real. Her examination of the themes of love and obsession and loneliness is particularly affecting, and one is left in no doubt that McCullers has the ability to gaze into the human condition and describe it eloquently in prose. It's just that in this particular prose, I felt her characterisation was not engaging in the slightest, and left me feeling somewhat cheated. I have to give kudos to Carson McCullers for her treatment of important human emotions, but would stop short of heaping praise on this novella, simply because of my dislike of her characterisation. Neverthless, there is some truly beautiful prose here. Rating:  - spelling mistakeGreat book - I loved it. Did you know that it's 'ballad' and not 'ballard'? Rating: - The lover and the belovedThis book is a must read, I am saddened that it has been relegated to a few reading lists and that it took a celebrity like Oprah to bring it back and restore its worthy readership in America. Here in England, we still haven't managed to see that works of fiction out side of the canon are capable of being literary and worthy of both a high readership and scholarly study. Carson McCullers is a fantastic author and this book showcases her genius. Her work is timeless, applicable and deals with social issues beyond that of her periods understanding. This book contains in depth characterisation of: 'the grotesque','gender subversion' and racial dis/harmony. I know that some will argue that its just another deep south novella about racial difference but its not. Equally I know that some will argue that the themes of loneliness, love and the loss of identity are prevalent because of McCullers' personal life. Again, I would suggest that these views are a little ignorant. McCullers' novella, beautifully demonstrates the frailty of humanness; the fickleness of love and the crushing pain of rejection. McCullers confronts issues that are just as applicable today as the were half a century ago. Her novella is a work of fiction that brings relief and sadness to the soul. Her characterisation is amazing, vivid and at times necessarily repulsive. In short, if your studying it, look past Cousin Lymon's obvious disability and concentrate on the homo-social relationship between him and Marvin Macy, and the Eros/Agape in-balance between him and Miss Amelia. Also, recognise the importance of the lover and the beloved and the significance of the Twelve Mortal Men. If you want to read this book for pleasure, ENJOY, it is beautiful! Rating: - A harrowing yet beautifully written novellaI read this book last year when I was twelve and have read it many times since! It is beautifully poetic and tells the story of Miss Amelia and her unrequited love for Cousin Lymon, a hunchback . It also tells of her rejected husband, Marvin Macy, and how he stole the admiration and the heart of the hunchback with depressing consequences. A must bedtime read if you like sad books or any of Carson Mc Cullers other books.  Try searching the Internet for "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH Wunderkind" or Ebay for "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH Wunderkind". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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