The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

3.9 AVERAGE

phira603's review against another edition

5.0
emotional funny inspiring sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

binca0685's review against another edition

2.75
challenging hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
megandia's profile picture

megandia's review against another edition

5.0
So I listened to this book, it was the only way I was going to get through it. It wasn't bad, it's just not what I typically read. I loved how it followed a few people. I will say I was able to predict who was the unfortunate soul talked about in the first chapter. But that was also because I wanted it to be them.

Definitely worth reading!

rebecca_nielsen's review against another edition

4.0
emotional hopeful 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: Yes

sarahliu's review against another edition

4.0
I put this down a few times because of the long ramp up - McBride spends a lot of time introducing a very large cast of characters (basically everyone in town) and their backstories (with quite a few detours that I'm not sure were necessary). The pay off was well worth it but jeez, it wasn't easy getting past that hump. After around the 60% mark, my patience was rewarded and all the loose threads McBride handed me got woven together into a beautifully tragic but hopeful story that I couldn't put down. I didn't expect to learn so much about Jewish culture along the way, but I'm glad I did.

allypally91's review against another edition

3.0
I want to give this 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this story, but I felt like the ending was rushed. I also couldn't understand why McBride decided to comment on today's society (not through allegory, but directly) in the middle of a book that took place over a century ago.
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mackellis's review against another edition

5.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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: No
Heart wrenching. Beautiful look at a single town and everything that touches it and the interactions of its people. 
bee_67's profile picture

bee_67's review against another edition

4.25
challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

maryclarewk's review against another edition

4.0
Overall, a beautiful book. I fell in love with the characters and felt inspired by the power of their simple love for one another. I also felt sadness at the experience of the ways trauma has shaped many of their lives and ways of being. I do think the author, at times, stepped out of the story and gave his own personal rants about current politics and modern day issues that took you out of the story in a way that felt cringe. This only happened twice though and doesn’t ruin that the rest of the book, while slow and not plot driven, was beautiful, simple and inspiring.

n_o_o_d_l_e_s's review against another edition

medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated