The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Didn’t enjoy the book at all . The story was a good one , but the unravelling of the plot was uninteresting, and language difficult to followDisappointing book

The National Book award winner, James McBride does it again, by writing another groundbreaking book on race, religion and history.The book is inspired by the author’s grandmother, a Jewish immigrant from Poland who ran a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s and 40s.Primarily centered on a neighborhood called Chicken Hill, where African Americans and Jewish immigrants coexist, the story revolves around its residents. As the narrative unfolds, new characters are introduced, adding depth to the community.Brimming with empathy, kindness and community living, the book is heartbreaking in places, and especially Chona’s story and Dodo’s predicament, ripped me apart.Beginning with a murder mystery—a skeleton found at the bottom of a covered well—the narrative then transports readers to the 1930s, unraveling the love story of Moshe and Chona, Jewish immigrants, and their adopted son Dodo, a hearing-impaired African American facing unfortunate circumstances.McBride adeptly captures the political and social commentary of the 1930s, depicting how the newly ordained “land of the free,” having welcomed immigrants, faces backlash from neighboring White communities toward a colored neighborhood.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Chona being my favourite character, with her heart of gold, always giving free grocery to the Black community on credit and feeding the hungry children of the neighbourhood. The pentitentiary scenes were equally heartbreaking and my heart wept for Dodo.A must read if you are looking for a snapshot of the social climate in 1930’s America, with a blistering story at its heart.

This was a book club choice, I was uncertain about after reading some negative reviews. Caught me by surprise, and enjoyed every page. Glad to have read on Kindle to check meanings of many words. The book could have been meaningful in 2024 as it was in 1920+. Rich characters, descriptions of places which you can hear and smell. Long time since I have read such a quality writing. It brought me to small European places where growing up, the language and spoken word with incredible humour in happy or difficult times was familiar and alive to me.

An intertwined story about negroes, jews and whites. James McBride knows all three very well , he is Jewish and Black , presumably with a white Jewish mother. All the characters are well fleshed out with dialog befitting the times. A wonderful find.

James McBride is an accomplished saxophonist/jazz musician. I knew that going into the book. (Oh, digression--did you know that he also played with the band, The Remainders? That’s a band with other writers like Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Barbara Kingsolver, Stephen King, Maya Angelou and several others who played for charity and fundraising). Anyway, I mention his musicianship because I see it all over the pages of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.This is the first book I’ve read by McBride (definitely more to come), so pardon my schoolgirlish, giggly first crush for the way that his writing lifts me up, how his words and characters opened my heart, only to break it, and then put it back together in a most absolute and tender way. James McBride is a kind, gentle soul, and his writing reflects this—his ability to bring the world together in a novel. He honors humanity. We are all connected, and this author compels that naturally from his characters. Now, how great is that, yeah?I want to put this in your hands and promise you a magnificent reading experience. It starts off in a shaggy dog kind of way, with an ensemble of characters, several who possess whimsical names like Fatty, Big Soap, Monkey Pants, Dodo. And their names fit flawlessly to their nature. The story starts with a 1972 prologue—a human skeleton is found in an old abandoned well, and then the body of the story begins in 1936 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a place called Chicken Hill, where Jews, immigrants, and Black folks lived side by side, sometimes in harmony, other times in discord, but here’s the thing—the goodness of people, the kindness of their hearts—that is what ultimately rises to the top.For the story to unfold, there has to be some sinister aspects, too—aren’t we still fighting the fight of ignorance, bigotry, corruption, meanness? But, in the McBride world, well, we also follow the long stretch of yarn as it wends around this way and that, through streets and backyards, dirt roads, onto hills and a shul and a church, through tunnels and a dance hall. And The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.I don’t need to rehash the plot, but there are a few fun facts about this book worth mentioning in a review. Such as, there are an abundance of characters introduced early on, and then again later on, before the plot actually launches. That’s the shaggy part. We don’t get to the plot too quickly—instead, Mcbride takes his time, builds the characters. They are already leaping off the pages by the time the plot rolls in.There are subplots, too, but in the end, they all weave their chords and come together. McBride may slow your roll at first, but it’s a winning bonanza of breadth and depth, from the smallest detail to the broadest design. Scenes that seem initially inconsequential become key notes later on.Early on, we meet the arresting Jewess, Chona. Chona is an unforgettable female protagonist—I’m keeping her in my journal of best. female. characters. ever. She is handicapped with a limp—but her limp doesn’t stop her strength of purpose, her fierce dignity, her bounteous benevolence, her gentle grace, and her consummate integrity. You will fall in love with her, just like Moshe, the theater and dance hall owner, did. Moshe and Chona dared to welcome change and inclusivity to their part of the world.At this time, in the 1930s, Black people were almost exclusively cast in menial jobs. But Moshe books Black jazz bands to play at his theater, and successfully includes all tribes together at the dance hall, who “frolicked and laughed, dancing as if they were birds enjoying flight for the first time.” Chona runs the grocery store, and extends credit to anyone who can’t afford to pay; she rarely keeps a record of their debt. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store may lose money, but it is rich in goodwill and kindness.Back to this being like a musical book—a jazzy book. Jazz music conjures that raspy, soulful, edgy flavor, blended from a mix of cultures and harmonies. McBride embraces those diverse, insistent, zingy, soul-stirring rhythms and blues into the narrative threads of his novel. I can hear the swing and the chase, the boogie and the blues, the sounds that go everywhere at once and jelly roll the story within a complex set of fusion and feelings. It’s also just a damned good story!The narrative pulls you here and there, up and down, and when you meet Dodo, the sweet and barely teenaged deaf kid, your protective instincts will wrap yourself around him and never want to let him go. And, when Dodo meets Monkey Pants—well, this right there—the heart of the novel that will break you in pieces.At times, I had a wellspring of tears—not just for joy or anguish. Sure, comedy and tragedy fill these pages. But McBride’s natural humanity and gentle nature is the colossal, phenomenal heart of the book. The author steps aside, he doesn’t ever intrude. The core of the narrative are the characters. Their cacophony becomes a coda for living large.This tale made me want to be better, to do better, to open my eyes to all the missed connections, to fix the broken chords and forge new ones, and seek eternally to strengthen them. We are humanity, we are the essential substance to add love to the world, one modest good deed at a time. That is The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.

Well written, colourful language, interesting themes and resonant. Great characters and plot.Unusual, historical and draws you in, a page turner.

A necessary step in the right direction. Many thanks and do keep going. Don‘t let us give up. never. never.