Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

365 reviews

kellijones's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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? Yes

3.0

I read this book because of the accolades it received, but I'm not sure how much I liked it. It was all anecdotes, and perspective changes, and tangents - I was halfway through the book wondering what the point of the story was. I love character driven stories, but I'm not sure I'd even call this book that. There were certainly enough characters, and the reader gets to learn a little about each of them. It felt like a lot of words to say a little. The perspectives of the characters' contained a lot of "isms" and perhaps were purposed to shed light on the biases we all carry. It was not uninteresting, but it wasn't my cup of tea. It felt like a chore to read most of the time and not even the kind of homework that was for my own good that I would see in hindsight.

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mnasadoo's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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alexacat_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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schausjk's review against another edition

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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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jkpiowa's review against another edition

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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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