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A review by carlyguari
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.0
I enjoyed this novel. I gave it 4/5 because I was not completely immersed in it and I do not feel like its a book I would recommend to EVERYONE.
I have looked at a few other reviews and there are things I agree with and don't agree with regarding these critiques. Some critiques say that they think McBride should have had a better editor because most of the book was about introducing characters (that all eventually play a role) and that this meandered for too long. I would argue that this is likely just the form of story telling. I think some people tell stories like this, with lots of side stories to get you to understand the persons, the history, and the tensions between the characters. I didn't think there was really going to be much of a plot actually until about halfway through the book. But I was enjoying the stories regardless. This style of story was similar to me as Remarkably Bright Creatures or even Lessons in Chemistry. You have a cast of characters who all eventually converge later on. But these critics don't seem to be criticizing those books for meandering and only having a loose plot. I enjoyed the exposure of stories from minority perspectives. This book reminds me of something I'd have read in an American literature class.
I can agree with some critiques that some character development is not impactful as others. With character building we need to have more show than tell, and I think Chona is a character where more is being told about her and she didn't get to see much of her character.
Lastly, I did find the political commentary at the end of the last chapter (not in the epilogue) to be shoehorned in there. I don't disagree with the commentary, it did feel out of place and took me a little out of the story because now I wasn't sure who's perspective it was sharing the commentary.
The audio book narrator was fantastic and probably helped with my level of engagement.
I have looked at a few other reviews and there are things I agree with and don't agree with regarding these critiques. Some critiques say that they think McBride should have had a better editor because most of the book was about introducing characters (that all eventually play a role) and that this meandered for too long. I would argue that this is likely just the form of story telling. I think some people tell stories like this, with lots of side stories to get you to understand the persons, the history, and the tensions between the characters. I didn't think there was really going to be much of a plot actually until about halfway through the book. But I was enjoying the stories regardless. This style of story was similar to me as Remarkably Bright Creatures or even Lessons in Chemistry. You have a cast of characters who all eventually converge later on. But these critics don't seem to be criticizing those books for meandering and only having a loose plot. I enjoyed the exposure of stories from minority perspectives. This book reminds me of something I'd have read in an American literature class.
I can agree with some critiques that some character development is not impactful as others. With character building we need to have more show than tell, and I think Chona is a character where more is being told about her and she didn't get to see much of her character.
Lastly, I did find the political commentary at the end of the last chapter (not in the epilogue) to be shoehorned in there. I don't disagree with the commentary, it did feel out of place and took me a little out of the story because now I wasn't sure who's perspective it was sharing the commentary.
The audio book narrator was fantastic and probably helped with my level of engagement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Body horror, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Murder