Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

31 reviews

oproy's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

It took a while to get into it. However, the character development and the way everything coalesced in the end was beautiful. It’s a hard story to read and although I personally felt like I couldn’t see myself in any of the characters, it was so well-written that I felt I was living on the Hill with these families.  It also felt both subtle and yet direct with it’s purpose, unlike some other books I’ve read with similar themes which seem to want to hit you over the head with the ideas of racism and prosperity. 

Overall, the first 2/3 is character development followed by 1/3 of a drive by story. It is well-written and

the the ending is satisfying

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Rape, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Infertility

kelly_e's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Title: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Author: James McBride
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: August 8, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Human • Meandering • Hopeful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.

As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I just had that special feeling about The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store when I first stumbled across it while researching upcoming releases in early 2023. There was no hesitating adding it to my TBR and I became more and more curious about it as it garnered allocades, especially when awarded the Barnes & Nobles Book of the Year Award. Because of all of this I was ecstatic when it was chosen as our March pick for my in-person book club.

McBride introduces the reader to a substantial cast of characters, and intentionally takes a slow, meandering approach in order to deliver an incredibly human story that culminates in a satisfying ending. There is no denying it does take some time to get settled into the complex lives and relationships between these characters, yet the payoff is huge in the end. What made this such a unique reading experience for me, is there is no one central character, rather each new character becomes the main character at a different point in the story. In this way, McBride offers a melting pot community, who despite their individual struggles and differences bond together in order to help one of their own. The real magic is how McBride demonstrates how the worst of us often leads to the best of us when it really counts. It really is pure magic!

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is one of those stories that just got better and better with each page. What started out as an average read soon turned into so much more, culminating in my five-star review. Each piece of the puzzle was absolutely necessary in completing the picture. I can definitely understand the polarizing reviews as this book isn't going to work for everyone, but it was most definitely for me. This was my first venture into James McBride's work and I will be exploring his backlist further.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• character driven stories
• quiet narratives
• jazz music

⚠️ CW: racism, racial slurs, antisemitism, xenophobia, religious bigotry, sexual assault, sexual violence, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, violence, forced institutionalization, ableism, death, death of parent, grief, medical trauma, medical content, chronic illness, excrement, classism, alcohol, infertility, cursing

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Light is only possible through dialogue between cultures, not through rejection of one or the other."

"Kindness. Love. Principle. It runs the world." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Sexual violence, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Rape, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Classism, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Excrement, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Infertility, and Death of parent

death of partner

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

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

lavaly_1's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Ableism

Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Antisemitism, and Infertility

booksandabackpack's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

Minor: Infertility, Alcohol, and Excrement

mysteryspouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Ableism, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexism, Violence, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Confinement, Rape, Colonisation, Death, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Cursing, Sexual violence, Medical content, Racism, Xenophobia, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Grief, Excrement, Mental illness, Police brutality, Death of parent, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility and Slavery

ljtademy3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I am speechless. James McBride has once again found a way to invoke the deepest emotional experience for me as a reader. This book provides commentary on racism, sexism, ableism, meritocracy, and the violence required to sustain these systems in a narrative built around a small community of very real and dimensional characters. The characters are so humorous, strong-willed, and are given depth/background spanning generations prior that allows you to see each character for so much more than most books allow you to see the characters. There are several plots taking place in this book and none of them are without reason. Every detail in the story is meticulously placed to create a really touching story. I read Deacon King Kong last year and loved it to pieces. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store was a much more difficult read due to graphic content, but it is again not without reason that difficult topics are included in this story. James McBride has hands down become my favorite author and it is by a landslide. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Medical trauma, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Death of parent, Ableism, Excrement, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Minor: Infertility

emilybartonspinks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Infertility

amber_thiels's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

3.25

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is where the people of Chicken Hill go for their groceries. I had such high hopes, a community coming together, mixed friendships, multiple storylines. It ultimately fell a little flat for me. There were two separate stories, Dodos and the shuls waterline and within those stories were smaller stories, a murder, Chonas death, Fatty going to Philly for a fat lip. It got really confusing as to why these stories were important. The ending felt rushed and incomplete with no mention of Moshe again. I think it's more on me for having high expectations of the book more than the book being hard to get through. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, Child abuse, and Rape

Minor: Infertility