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A review by purplepenning
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
In 1972, a construction crew finds a skeleton in the bottom of a well in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. But really, that's the end of the story. The real story takes place in the minority community of Chicken Hill in the 1930s, when Black and Jewish neighbors, estranged friends, quiet community protectors, well-intentioned hustlers, crooked public officials, morally diseased doctors, bankrolling mobsters, predatory monsters, and one deaf child intersect to reveal how an extraordinary community of communities came together to support and protect each other.
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Chronic illness, Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Mental illness, Excrement, Confinement, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Death of parent, and Infertility