Bailey's Cafe (1992) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Bailey: Not his real name. He and his wife own Bailey's Cafe and he is the narrator. Bailey is a World War II (Pacific) vetran and loves baseball - especially the Negro League.
• Nadine "Deenie": Bailey's wife. A laugh or a smile is rare.
• Mr. Van Morrison: A rich black man in Brooklyn who Bailey's parents work for. While rich he is not accepted by white society.
• Mrs. Van Morrison: Married to Mr. Van Morrison. She did not want to hire black servants although she is also black. Wants to fit into white society.
• Sister Carrie: Cornerstone of the Temple of Perpetual Redemption. A woman afraid of her own appeties.
• Sugar Man: All-aroudn hustler and pimp. He is a little man that dresses to the nines and practically lives in a 1936 Dusenberg. Is is charged 3x what the meal is worth because he would insist on paying for it anyway.
• Sadie: A lady. A regular that Deenie waited on twice in a row. Sadie would look 60 one day and 70 the next. She was a wino and a 25 cent whore.
• Iceman Jones: Delivers ice via horse. Knows that when he gets a truck the ice business will probably be over. He is a widower that likes Sadie.
• Eve: She runs a whore house. Bailey's 1st customer.
• Billy Boy: A grown man with an infant mind from Eve's past.
• Godfather: A preacher that found and raised Eve.
• Mary "Peaches": A beautiful woman that became the whore she saw in the mirror.
• Daddy Jim: Peaches father
• Jesse Bell King: A drug addict from Manhattan
• Mother Bell: Jesse's mother and a great woman
• Uncle Eli: Controlled the Kings and hated women
• Gabriel "Gabe": A Russian Jew that escape Hitler and owns a pawnshop that is never open down the street from Bailey's Cafe.
• Angel: Sister Carrie's thirteen year old daughter. She is the youngest person around Bailey's Cafe. She is an old soul.
• Stanley Beckwourth Booker Taliaferro Washington Carver "Miss Maple": Works as housekeeper and bouncer for Eve. Wants to get into the world of advertising.
• Aunt Hazel: Stanley's favorite aunt.
• Mariam: A young girl from Africa expecting a child.

Quotes edit see section history

• “It's never been my ambition to win a popularity contest. If it had been, I wouldn't have married a woman even I have a hard time liking. (I told you I'd be getting to you, darling). But liking Nadine has nothing to do with the fact that these have been twelve wonderful years”

  Bailey

• “But nobody comes in here with a simple story. Every one-liner's got a life underneath it. Every point's got a counterpoint.”

  Bailey

• “If I could get through all I'd gotten through, then I was overqualified to be the mayor of New Orleans. And much too overqualified to be the governor of Louisiana. And when I kept thinkg on up the line, the comparisons were beneath contempt.”

  Eve

• “I figure she has to find something to nag about since I'm flawless in every other way. Each morning when she gets in I tell her just that, and what she tells me is pretty near unrepeatable.”

  Bailey

• “You do right by the woman who has your kids. Don't care what you may think of her, them are your kids.”

  Mother Bell

• “But I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or to make you feel miserable either. Life is just suppose to make you feel.”

  Bailey

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Brooklyn, New York: Where Bailey grew up.
• Steeplechase Park: A bit of amusement for just about everyone's taste expect Nadine. Bailey often took Nadine here on dates.
• Guadalcanal: Bailey's station in World War II.
• Chicago, Illinois: Bailey's Cafe is located on the South Side of Chicago.
• Pilottown, Louisiana: Where Eve grew up
• Arabi, Louisiana: 10 miles away from New Orleans
• New Orleans, Louisiana: Eve spent 10 years here
• Manhattan, New York: Home to Jesse Bell.
• Sugar Hill: Home to Jesse Bell King.
• Imperial Valley, California: Home to Stanley.
• Ethiopia: Home to Mariam.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Gloria Naylor (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 818'.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

This book has very adult themes and language.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States › African American › Naylor, Gloria
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( N ) › Naylor, Gloria
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary