Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lphreads 's review for:
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
by James McBride
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Waaaayyyyy too meandering to be readable and enjoyable for me. I completely forgot about the hook that the book opens with until I was reading another review of it.
I did to switch to the audiobook about a quarter of the way through and that was a better experience. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life and allowing me to understand them a bit better. Still, the overall structure of the story was such that the action all happened within the last 20ish%, when I was rushing to finish before my book club meeting.
I did finish the audiobook after the book club meeting and remember thinking that I really liked the epilogue, but now I can’t even remember what in particular had me thinking that…so…that probably tells you all you need to know about that.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is a great work of literary fiction and I definitely see the appeal if that’s your cup of tea, but it really just wasn’t for me.
I did to switch to the audiobook about a quarter of the way through and that was a better experience. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life and allowing me to understand them a bit better. Still, the overall structure of the story was such that the action all happened within the last 20ish%, when I was rushing to finish before my book club meeting.
I did finish the audiobook after the book club meeting and remember thinking that I really liked the epilogue, but now I can’t even remember what in particular had me thinking that…so…that probably tells you all you need to know about that.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is a great work of literary fiction and I definitely see the appeal if that’s your cup of tea, but it really just wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Antisemitism