Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories Community Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Story.Paragraph)

Quote #13

Years before, when the music department had decided to gang together and spend the summer in Salzburg, Mr. Brook sneaked out of the arrangement at the last moment and took a solitary trip to Peru. (Madame.3)

Mr. Brook's self-isolation sets the scene for his attraction to Madame Zilensky, to a different kind of community.

Quote #14

His own life seemed so solitary, a fragile column supporting nothing amidst the wreckage of the years. (Sojourner.33)

It's only when John Ferris watches his ex-wife conduct her happy domesticity that his own expatriation is found so wanting. (Also, let's not forget that his father has just passed.)