Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

26 reviews

katie_thrives's review against another edition

challenging inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to love this so bad. The Color of Water is one of my all time favorites, and I went into this with high expectations. Because of that, AND because this book is EVERYWHERE. 

I just didn’t. I found myself unable to connect and kept setting it down. 

Overall, it felt pretty scattered, there were so many characters, and the resolution was anti-climactic. While a realistic portrayal, I just wanted more.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Terminal illness, Racism, and Racial slurs

lindseyph's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Death, Racism, and Sexual harassment

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

---

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

amandalachelle's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Grief, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Excrement, Hate crime, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Racism, Murder, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry

booksandabackpack's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

Minor: Infertility, Alcohol, and Excrement

mysteryspouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Ableism, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexism, Violence, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Confinement, Rape, Colonisation, Death, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Cursing, Sexual violence, Medical content, Racism, Xenophobia, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Grief, Excrement, Mental illness, Police brutality, Death of parent, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility and Slavery

lejones1785's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? No

2.5

This book was not an easy read in more than one way. The story line meanders and never really gets to the point. It's like listening to my grandpa tell a story that included the side stories for all the people. It takes forever and never really ends. There was a lot that could make people uncomfortable so check trigger warnings. The writing was difficult, the characters disconnected, and the story hard to follow. I almost DNF'd, now I wish I had

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Grief, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

maceface290's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Antisemitism, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Pedophilia

pbruce593's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Classism, Antisemitism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, Racism, Racial slurs, and Pedophilia

emmakrof's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store tells the story of from the perspectives of Jewish, Black, and White members of a small, early 20th century Pennsylvania town. There are many subplots (some of which I found totally uninteresting), but I found the “main” plot most intriguing — it had me racing to the end!

A Jewish couple must hide a deaf Black child to keep him from being institutionalized. But when the child stops the town’s doctor (and member of the KKK) from raping the unconscious woman who was sheltering him, the doctor turns him into the authorities. Rumors abound, but, of course, the white man’s story  is believed. After a short but traumatic stay in the state mental institution, the community conspires to and succeeds in breaking the boy out. With money from Jewish friends, the black family buys a farm down South and goes on to live a fulfilling, prosperous life. And the doctor meets a karmic, albeit accidental, end.

One thing I really loved about this book was the way the author portrayed the dynamics between the Jewish, black, and white community members. He depicts the different concepts of self, life goals, allegiances, and tensions community members create (and the ideas they create about others) in order to coexist. Everyone has a complicated relationship with everyone else, both inter- and intra-racial. It felt very detailed and very human.

But I found a few of the characters kind of one-dimensional. In particular, I had complicated feelings about Chona. Chona is a Jewish woman who is beloved by all in the community. She rebukes racism, rebukes antisemitism, rebukes misogyny, rebukes gender roles, rebukes ableism. She is not afraid to speak her mind and do what she believes is right. She spends her life running a grocery store at a loss and giving food away for free to help alleviate structural poverty.

She does everything to protect Dodo from institutionalization, until the moment she dies. Perhaps her only flaw is not inquiring when her black childhood friend Bernice drops out of school and subsequently avoids public life.

Doubtlessly, Chona is a great person, and I enjoyed her role in the story!! But I am conflicted about how to feel about her. Her colorblind, abilityblind anyone-is-capable-of-everything approach to life feels naive; but at the same time, she is closer to the “truth” than many of the other characters in this book!

Though perhaps her death signifies that viewpoint alone cannot carry one to success?

Chona feels too perfect, too certain, but maybe that’s the point.

While I enjoyed the plot, I felt the ending was rushed. I would’ve liked to hear more about Dodo

and his escape

than some of the more mundane town drama the author spends so much time on. I liked the inclusion of the mundane drama as it added more dimension to the story, but I felt the balance could’ve been better.

My final gripe is that the author includes a seemingly random rant about how cellphones are ruining our lives?? The timing of this rant was bizarre

(right after the community learns about Chona’s death — are cellphones really that evil that they should overshadow the death of a beloved woman, that the characters’ reaction to them would be stronger than their grief in that moment??? TOTALLY anticlimactic, and it took me out of the scene completely.)

Additionally, it was about two thirds of the way through the book, and up until that point, the story was firmly set in the early 20th century; there was not a single mention about how the events of the story would be interpreted in the present day or vice versa. It was SO weird and out of place, and he never returns to this point? I was so confused that it brought my overall rating down.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Antisemitism, Death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Violence, Grief, Rape, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Racism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Death of parent, Police brutality, Ableism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis