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

An incredibly expansive historical novel! McBride excels at creating a setting that is very much alive and nuanced as his characters. Shifting character points of view from chapter to chapter allowed such a wonderful depth to not just the primary characters but the secondary ones as well while simultaneously seeing how each character could interact with others in a combinatorial fashion. McBride also honors his historical topic well, illuminating the different struggles among Black and Jewish populations in 1930s Pennsylvania. My one gripe is some of his sweeping narrative regarding an unknown future of technology and attention-leeching phones that the characters would lament knowing. I felt it to be more of a reflection of the author's luddite views than a necessity to include in this rich novel.

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beamae's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense 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 entered thinking this was going to be a murder mystery book. For those thinking that it is…it’s not. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book more knowing that it wasn’t actually a murder mystery. Not even sure why this book has that in the description cause it’s very misleading.

With that said, this book is a beautiful story that has a wonderful way of showing how minorities support each other and how they are pitted against one another as well.

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shottel's review against another edition

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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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henneyce's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is literature

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lexcellent's review against another edition

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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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maddiet425's review against another edition

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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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sustainably_lucia's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This is a story about friendship and people working together for the good of their community. Themes of resilience and defiance shine through as the characters navigate a society designed to keep them small, but they will not be held down.

The focus of the story shifts from one character to another. I enjoyed this layered approach to introducing characters and giving their backstory as it applied to the story instead of having to keep track of it from the beginning. Each character adds a thread to the story as they intertwine and come together in the end.

It is a different writing style than I typically read and I enjoyed it very much. It is real and honest and true to how life was during this time. I cared deeply about this community and was rooting for them.

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lindseyph's review against another edition

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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

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