Bailey's Cafe
A Novel
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3.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
A "moving and memorable" novel about a cafe where everyone has a story to tell from the award-winning author of The Women of Brewster Place (The Boston Globe).
In post–World War II Brooklyn, on a quiet backstreet, there's a little place that draws people from all over—not for the food, and definitely not for the coffee. An in-between place that's only there when you need it, Bailey's Cafe is a crossroads where patrons stay for a while before making a choice: Move on or check out?
In this novel, National Book Award–winning author Gloria Naylor's expertly crafted characters experience a journey full of beauty and heartbreak. Touching on gender, race, and the African American experience, Bailey's Cafe is "a sublime achievement" about the resilience of the human spirit (People).
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We fell hard for Gloria Naylor while reading her first novel, the Oprah-approved The Women of Brewster Place, but the heartbreaking magic realism of Bailey’s Cafe makes it her most haunting work. These interconnected short stories, set in a small diner in a predominately black neighbourhood, create an inspiring and even spiritual sense of uplift. Bailey’s is a refuge for the downtrodden, from housewife-turned-heroin-addict Jesse to cross-dressing housekeeper Miss Maple, who stumble upon its healing vibes. Naylor’s warmhearted empathy for her characters shines through each of these powerful, emotionally complex stories, and her evocative, poetic language never veers into mawkish sentimentality. This is a book to savour over and over.
