Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

351 reviews

artdec0's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

schausjk's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.5

There were many aspects to this book I did enjoy. Some of the characters were very interesting, particularly Chona and Nate. The way James McBride really showcases his characters serves the book well in driving home how interconnected everyone is, and how one person's decisions can impact everyone else. That being said, I would have loved to have seen more character growth from many of those involved. And while I know that the characters are the main focus here, I'd also have loved more frequent descriptions of Chicken Hill itself as a place. At times I'd just sit back and soak in the sense of place created by the characters and their histories, and I would've liked to see more on how their surroundings impact them in turn. I also found the ending somewhat anticlimactic in part because of all this time spent building up this web of characters. I've seen how they relate to each other, and I learned what became of a few of them, but there are many more who I came to know and care about over the course of the story but never really found out what happened to them. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

jkpiowa's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Really enjoyed this one. One of the most diverse and well written books I've read lately. It covers racism, ableism, sexism, and antisemitism - make sure to check content warnings for this one, it's very raw and not sugar coated. 

My main critique is that while the last 1/3 was 5/5 stars, amazing, and the first 1/3 was intriguing, the middle 1/3 dragged a little bit. Know that the cast of characters is literally a whole town, and this book is about the depth of characters, not the plot. 

Make sure you read the author's acknowledgments! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Violence

icecreamated's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

im tired of reading hard hitting books that include descriptive sexual assaults and frequent callbacks to it

campirebat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, and Murder

juanat77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

atamano's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, and Classism

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility

carlyguari's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this novel. I gave it 4/5 because I was not completely immersed in it and I do not feel like its a book I would recommend to EVERYONE.

I have looked at a few other reviews and there are things I agree with and don't agree with regarding these critiques. Some critiques say that they think McBride should have had a better editor because most of the book was about introducing characters (that all eventually play a role) and that this meandered for too long. I would argue that this is likely just the form of story telling. I think some people tell stories like this, with lots of side stories to get you to understand the persons, the history, and the tensions between the characters. I didn't think there was really going to be much of a plot actually until about halfway through the book. But I was enjoying the stories regardless. This style of story was similar to me as Remarkably Bright Creatures or even Lessons in Chemistry. You have a cast of characters who all eventually converge later on. But these critics don't seem to be criticizing those books for meandering and only having a loose plot. I enjoyed the exposure of stories from minority perspectives. This book reminds me of something I'd have read in an American literature class.

I can agree with some critiques that some character development is not impactful as others. With character building we need to have more show than tell, and I think Chona is a character where more is being told about her and she didn't get to see much of her character.

Lastly, I did find the political commentary at the end of the last chapter (not in the epilogue) to be shoehorned in there. I don't disagree with the commentary, it did feel out of place and took me a little out of the story because now I wasn't sure who's perspective it was sharing the commentary.

The audio book narrator was fantastic and probably helped with my level of engagement.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body horror, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Murder

leslieasy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism

annaf90's review against another edition

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

3.0

I feel like this book was pretty slow moving. It is interesting in that it gives at least part of the story of every person and situation involved in some way, demonstrating just how complex life is, but that also makes it very, very convoluted and somewhat difficult to follow. I had to re-listen to various parts a few times to make sure I understood what was happening. 

It also felt like, for how slowly the story moved and for how immensely detailed the whole story was, the ending felt abrupt and rushed. There was very little story about what happened to everyone after the fact, aside from one person. The dichotomy of that could be artful, I suppose, but instead it felt unbalanced and lacking. 

There were a few points that were too graphic for my comfort. 

My final verdict: I’d recommend the book if someone was already interested in the story but wouldn’t likely encourage someone to read it. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism

Minor: Violence and Murder

Sexual abuse of a child