Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

93 reviews

productioneer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racial slurs and Excrement

Minor: Sexual assault and Death

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

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

eliselerario's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

A beautifully written story contained within the community on Chicken Hill in Pottstown, PA. Despite devastating struggle throughout the novel, the Chicken Hill residents find strength in togetherness, acceptance, and the enduring and restorative power of kindness. Trigger warnings: rape and sexual assault, racism, racist language, ableism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Child abuse, Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence, Antisemitism, Excrement, Pedophilia, and Xenophobia

Insight into the deplorable, torturous conditions at Pennhurst

sopopia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Pedophilia, Rape, Xenophobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs and Death

jowestendorf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault

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

maddiet425's review against another edition

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

2.5

I wanted so badly to like this book, and there were parts of it that I absolutely loved. However, there were too many characters, all with their own complex backstories for any growth or development to occur. I found that this made the story quite slow and boring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

marissaumble's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Death, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

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