Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

107 reviews

elmtreebooks's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Slow. Brutal. Not for me. Graphically, explicitly, relentlessly dark. 
My mom was reading at the same time as me and I got to a point where I stopped reading to warn her to put it down and not continue further, but it was too late for me at the point so I finished it. 

If you don’t like the first 20 pages, do not continue. Check the content warnings and take them very seriously. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Ableism

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

I read McBride's memoir about himself and his Jewish mom years ago. It's wonderful to see how, in addition to research, he clearly pulled from aspects of his upbringing in crafting this book. I will say that, although I liked the connection to USAmericans being on stolen land, this would have been a stronger theme if there were any indigenous characters, which there weren't, as far as I remember.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Excrement, Sexual assault, Confinement, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Child death, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, Cancer, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Medical content, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Violence, Stalking, Grief, Cursing, and Outing

Moderate: Mental illness, Colonisation, Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Alcohol, and Misogyny

Minor: War and Slavery

knittingceliac's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Overall a compelling story, with plenty of detail of life for Jewish and African Americans in the early 20th century. Story was slow moving and had such a wide cast of characters that I had a hard time keeping track, and ultimately felt unsatisfied by the ending. Some very poignant scenes of friendship and love are the most redeeming elements of this book for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Racism, Rape, and Forced institutionalization

theabee's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A poignant interwoven story. Sometimes hard to follow with so many characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Ableism, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Abandonment

lindseyph's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Death, Racism, and Sexual harassment

mal_reads_books's review against another edition

The book was too slow and convoluted to maintain my interest. It had way too many side characters and storylines that didn't seem to go anywhere. Most seemed irrelevant to the main, but barely there, plot. I constantly found myself skimming parts because the story kept meandering. While I heard the story picks up toward the end, I'd already pushed myself enough that I no longer want to continue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Ableism, Antisemitism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

The author is a boob (and occasional ass) man for sure

kamrynkoble's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars rounded up. I'm not sure I would've read this if it wasn't for my book club, but I'm glad I did.

My main complaint is the sheer volume of characters and the lack of a clear goal/plot/central story. And for all of the random stories I had to read about them, I really don't know them well at all. I told my cousin that if I was trying to make these characters in the Sims, I would have a bear of a time trying to come up with three traits for any of them. 

Reading felt like a bit of a chore, and I think I would've taken much longer if I wasn't trying to meet my book club deadline. The nature of it just made me skim, and when I skimmed, I missed a lot of what makes this book strong. I ended up transitioning to audio because of how much I was skimming, but then I struggled to focus on the audio too. I ended up reading a summary that made me appreciate it a bit more, and I think I would've benefitted from active discussion as I read rather than just being independent until the end.

I do wish that the setting would've been more grounded. I feel like I can't clearly picture much of it, and it was so important to the story.

The strength lies in the themes. It provides ample opportunity for reflection and discussion. For these reasons though, the content warnings abound. Make sure to scan the list ahead of time if you have any common triggers. 

While the summary I read helped me appreciate the bigger picture of this novel more, I think it often gets lost in the slog with this one. I didn't need McBride to be heavier-handed, but a little more focus/less distraction would've made it more impactful in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, and Ableism

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Excrement

tiamia1084's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Death, Confinement, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, and Excrement

maddamreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Definitely not what I initially expected going into the book. I expected a murder mystery and got an intricate weaving of lives of Black, Jewish, and immigrant communities. The build is slow, and I almost DNFed a lot. The intense world building starts to pay off towards the middle of the book. I learned a lot about Jewish and Black communities, culture, and music of the 1920s and 30s. It is obvious that this was created with immense care. That being said, it was a bit too slow for me and just interesting enough to keep me in. I did not connect with all of the characters, but some of them I loved. Overall middle of the road book for me. Should definitely be an AP high school required reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Ableism, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Death

betzine's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This one is a slow burn, but it’s an exquisitely crafted novel that comes together in a deeply moving, satisfying conclusion. James McBride has a gift for capturing America’s complex beauty— largely by depicting its profound ugliness with unabashed frankness. This is a novel that will stay with me forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Violence, Infertility, Murder, Antisemitism, Excrement, Ableism, Misogyny, Medical content, Racism, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury