Bailey’s Café (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Gloria Naylor
- First Published: 1992
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: Summer, 1948, to summer, 1949
- Setting: A street the location of which shifts with each character
- Principal Characters: Bailey, Nadine (Deenie), Sadie, Eve, Sweet Esther, Mary (Peaches), Jesse Bell, Mariam, Stanley Beckwourth Booker T. Washington Carver Maple (Ms. Maple)
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, Child rearing or parenting, United States or Americans, Wives, Racism, 1940’s, Betrayal, Prejudices or antipathies, Prostitution or prostitutes, Restaurants, bars, taverns, or pubs, Roads, streets, or highways, Virginity or virgins, World War II
- Locales: United States
The Novel
Bailey’s Café is the story of a magical place and of the lost souls who have there found, if not redemption, at least a safe haven. As the chapter and section titles suggest, Naylor structures her novel in the form of a jazz performance. The book begins with “Maestro, If You Please,” in which Bailey, as the bandleader, introduces himself; this is followed by “The Vamp,” Bailey’s introduction to his café. The main part of the book is entitled “The Jam,” and Bailey’s Café ends with a short, upbeat chapter appropriately called “The...
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See Also:
Gloria Naylor (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Gloria Naylor (Long Fiction)Gloria Naylor (Identities and Issues)
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