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

Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

150 reviews

vatodd's review against another edition

Was too sad with little to no change in sight. For a black woman on the cover it didn't feel like a book for black readers. The black characters at least for now felt very 2 dimensional and mostly anchored to the Jewish storylines for torture and saving. Having to read from the perspective of 2 racist characters and the Jewish story be larger 3 to 1 was enough to feel like I as a black woman was not the intended audience.

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smreads24's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective 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? No

4.75

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nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition

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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

3.5

TH&EGS starts off very slow, like a steam train beginning to move down the tracks, until it reaches a fast clip, coupling rods slamming and horn blowing, until it eases into something peaceful and lingering and hisses to a stop.
this book is about characters: larger than life, representing ideals or the worst of us, somehow co-existing. the second half of the book’s momentum belongs with the plot, but its purpose is to share the human condition. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

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