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rlgreen91's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
With Bailey's Cafe, Gloria Naylor continues her exquisitely written sets of loosely connected stories within the same universe. Well, sort of.
It's pretty clear from the start that the Bailey's Cafe of, well Bailey's Cafe, is the same one referenced by George in Mama Day. However, Naylor takes the characters of Bailey's Cafe and their stories in a much different direction than might be expected based on George's dialogue in Mama Day. In fact, Naylor weaves together the stories of marginalized people in a way that makes the story of George's life in Mama Day that much more bittersweet in reflection.
In a few ways, Bailey's Cafe feels a bit like what would happen if The Women of Brewster Place, Linden Hills, and Mama Day had a baby. In terms of narrative structure, Bailey's Cafe is similar to The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills in that it uses character vignettes to depict the lives of people who happen to all be in the same place at the same time. Well, sort of. There's an element of magical realism in Bailey's Cafe that harkens back to Linden Hills and Mama Day. The symbolism of names for major characters in Bailey's Cafe also brings to mind similar techniques in Linden Hills and Mama Day. While Linden Hills is known for being a modern retelling of Dante's Inferno, I also get the sense that Bailey's Cafe is also based on a well-known Western classic, although I don't know which one. And like The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills, Bailey's Cafe left me wishing we'd gotten a peek at some of the minor characters too.
All in all, an enjoyable read at 4.5 stars. I finished this super fast while traveling, so I'll take a bit of a break and dive into more of Toni Morrison's work next.
It's pretty clear from the start that the Bailey's Cafe of, well Bailey's Cafe, is the same one referenced by George in Mama Day. However, Naylor takes the characters of Bailey's Cafe and their stories in a much different direction than might be expected based on George's dialogue in Mama Day. In fact, Naylor weaves together the stories of marginalized people in a way that makes the story of George's life in Mama Day that much more bittersweet in reflection.
In a few ways, Bailey's Cafe feels a bit like what would happen if The Women of Brewster Place, Linden Hills, and Mama Day had a baby. In terms of narrative structure, Bailey's Cafe is similar to The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills in that it uses character vignettes to depict the lives of people who happen to all be in the same place at the same time. Well, sort of. There's an element of magical realism in Bailey's Cafe that harkens back to Linden Hills and Mama Day. The symbolism of names for major characters in Bailey's Cafe also brings to mind similar techniques in Linden Hills and Mama Day. While Linden Hills is known for being a modern retelling of Dante's Inferno, I also get the sense that Bailey's Cafe is also based on a well-known Western classic, although I don't know which one. And like The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills, Bailey's Cafe left me wishing we'd gotten a peek at some of the minor characters too.
All in all, an enjoyable read at 4.5 stars. I finished this super fast while traveling, so I'll take a bit of a break and dive into more of Toni Morrison's work next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Abortion, and Outing
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Antisemitism, and Trafficking
Most of the book's characters are marginalized people in the early 20th century in the US, so you can imagine that they don't always have a lot of happy stories.