Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

21 reviews

theologize's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Excrement, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism

natesalsbury's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

I had trouble with this book. I thought it was well-written with a lot of detail. And it started strong: the first chapter begins with a flash-forward of a body being discovered, leading me to believe the mysterious murder would be central to the story, à la Where the Crawdads Sing. This was not the case- the "mystery" of the body is primarily referenced in the first chapter and the last two, with little impact on the story.

At points, there was too much detail. Introducing a new character required multiple paragraphs (or even pages) of backstory- and there were A LOT of characters. I could not keep track of all of the characters, several with primarily used nicknames; however, on occasion a real name was used and I forgot who that character was and had to go back for context clues. There were also so many points-of-view which made it hard to keep up with. I wasn't sure who the main character was supposed to be, if any.

The plot seemed very convoluted. I wasn't sure why any of these characters specific stories were told until the very end when it was explicitly laid out "This character did this, which meant this character could do this and, as a result, this happened." So it did tie together in the end, but took so long to get there.

This story primarily took place in the late 1920s with the first and last chapters taking place in 1972. At least twice - in random spots - modern day 2000s events were mentioned, specifically referring to school shootings despite almost no gun violence in the book, so I wasn't entirely sure why it was mentioned at all.

Content Warning: Explicit SA.

The first instance happened about midway through the novel and felt semi-important to the story, but was hard to read. The second instance happened near the end and did not feel important to the story; the context of the scenario made some sense, but so would other acts of violence/assault that would have been less traumatic to read.

Overall, I am glad I read this, but would not jump at the opportunity to read it again. Maybe somewhere down the road I will read it with a different perspective (and knowing what's going to happen) and find a way to appreciate it more, but that day will not come anytime soon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, and Racism

shottel's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

This book deserves the positive acclaim it’s received. It could fit in with the Great Novels that I was forced to read in high school, and I say that completely as a positive thing. Its depiction of overlapping cultural communities as conflicting and misunderstanding but ultimately looking out for and genuinely caring for each other is as hopeful as it is realistic. In the end, the villains aren’t the people with deep biases. If that were the case, there would be no one to root for in this book. Instead, the villains are the people who refuse to care about people who aren’t like them, and our protagonists are people who don’t let their misconceptions about other groups of people get in the way of doing the right thing. It’s a wonderfully positive message.

The writing style is immaculate as well, with perfect balance and flow and a dry sense of sarcasm. The presentation choices (font, spacing, etc.) present this book like great work of literature, like a fancy looking Bible, and it manages to earn these dressings. The plot is well-paced, with just the right amount of twists and turns. I couldn’t suggest a single phrasing or word choice or paragraph restructuring that I feel would be better. 

The sole reason this is not a 5/5 review is that for all its excellence in depicting numerous different ethnic groups and people of different ages and abilities, the identity of the author as a straight man comes through. It’s the sole mark against the book’s virtual universality, an impressive feat given it’s situated very firmly in interwar-period Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, the repeated references to women’s breasts and buttocks and the greater priority men have in the story, among other things, was hard for me to miss.

Nevertheless, this book is still very close to a must-read. If you can manage the lengthy list of heavy topics the book covers (it pulls absolutely no punches with regards to the difficulties of life) and you think you even might possibly be interested in the setting and style, it’s worth your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Excrement, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Hate crime

Minor: Colonisation, Medical content, Classism, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Slavery

lexcellent's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? No

1.0

The premise was interesting and some parts were done well. However, I couldn't fully get into the book. It felt like McBride was trying to accomplish too much with this all the side plots, so quality was sacrificed at times. I also really wish there had been a warning about the pedophilia in the last part of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Vomit, Confinement, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Rape, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Pedophilia

elletrixie's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Antisemitism, Rape, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Racism, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

hayleythompson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

Moderate: Classism, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Hate crime, and Antisemitism

vdspreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.5

I was really looking forward to reading this "slice of life" story. I did like the storytelling, but it was so slow. I think I wanted a pace more like Remarkably Bright Creatures or Practical Magic. To me, even though the explanations and history were needed, the pace was just too slow for me. 

The insight into the period, different cultures/customs, and how people interacted is fascinating. I thought I was going to be taken by the relationship between Dodo and Chona. It was the glimmer of humanity that Dodo and Monkeypants found that kept me reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Classism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Death of parent

wackydopamine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

I would've loved it if not for the way that the women were described and for the wildly unnecessary interject of a "cell phones are evil" message in the middle of an intensely dark and sad scene.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Child abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Hate crime, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Mental illness, and Excrement

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

lsinfield's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Hate crime, Murder, Excrement, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Classism, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Child abuse