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daredeviling 's review for:
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
by James McBride
emotional
reflective
sad
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
This book was big a couple of years ago and I knew that a lot of people had liked it, but it had never seemed like quite my thing, so I put it on the backburner till now. I read it to fulfill both a GR and PBT group challenge, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I also realized that I've read this author before back when I was in high school. We had to read The Color of Water for our history class in 12th grade which (admittedly) I really don't remember anything about, but it's cool that I'm reading him again 16 years later.
While this book didn't really have a found family vibe exactly, there was an aspect of that in the community that came together, which I always enjoy. The first part of the book was a bit confusing, since the author kept introducing new, seemingly unrelated people every other chapter or so. I just wanted him to get on with the actual plot. But eventually, all these unrelated people came together and it made sense within the larger context of the story, and I was like OHHH. I really enjoyed the way that the author ultimately weaved everything together. I'm always impressed when authors can take disparate threads and turn it all into one cohesive story.
This book is also about power, and who has it, and who doesn't, and how those who don't sometimes try and get close to those who do in an attempt to get power (like the Jewish families moving off the Hill in order to be more ~mainstream). There was also a lot about the "American Dream" and those who are able to attain it, and those whom the system works against. That is unfortunately very relevant for the political world we live in today, and I appreciate that the author grappled with those ideas in this novel.
While I always felt a little bit like I was viewing the characters through a window, meaning that I never felt like I was in it with them, I still felt like I got to know them more or less. It just felt a bit like there was a barrier between us where I didn't feel a full connection with any of them, even the main characters, so there wasn't a full emotional payoff whenChona died or when Dodo is sent to the asylum and all his trauma there . I think the only time I really felt emotional when I was reading this was when I was super mad at Doc for being super racist/intolerant/rapey and just a generally terrible person. I'm glad that he died at the end, he totally deserved it for being an actual bad human.
I struggled with the time jumps in this novel. I would occasionally become confused about where in time we were, because the jumps would happen with essentially no label or smooth transition, and it would completely throw me out of the story. I also felt like the ending was a bit abrupt. While we were told what ended up happening with Nate, Dodo, and Moshe, I wish that we had gotten more "showing, not telling" with them, because the climax essentially suddenly ended and we got a short epilogue saying what everyone was up to years later. It was almost like the author was suddenly over it and decided to just sum everything up.
Still, the friendships, community, and Black and Jewish communities coming together was very sweet. I always enjoy watching different people coming together to solve problems with their own skills/abilities, and we had that here in the case of managing the water supply problem to the Jewish shul andrescuing Dodo from the asylum . I also really enjoyed the way that the author writes about how different people from different communities and with different disabilities manage to communicate, because they are all human and looking for connection first and foremost. Despite all the flaws I noted, I gave it a pretty high rating because the book was ultimately heart-warming, and sometimes, that's just what I love in a novel.
While this book didn't really have a found family vibe exactly, there was an aspect of that in the community that came together, which I always enjoy. The first part of the book was a bit confusing, since the author kept introducing new, seemingly unrelated people every other chapter or so. I just wanted him to get on with the actual plot. But eventually, all these unrelated people came together and it made sense within the larger context of the story, and I was like OHHH. I really enjoyed the way that the author ultimately weaved everything together. I'm always impressed when authors can take disparate threads and turn it all into one cohesive story.
This book is also about power, and who has it, and who doesn't, and how those who don't sometimes try and get close to those who do in an attempt to get power (like the Jewish families moving off the Hill in order to be more ~mainstream). There was also a lot about the "American Dream" and those who are able to attain it, and those whom the system works against. That is unfortunately very relevant for the political world we live in today, and I appreciate that the author grappled with those ideas in this novel.
While I always felt a little bit like I was viewing the characters through a window, meaning that I never felt like I was in it with them, I still felt like I got to know them more or less. It just felt a bit like there was a barrier between us where I didn't feel a full connection with any of them, even the main characters, so there wasn't a full emotional payoff when
I struggled with the time jumps in this novel. I would occasionally become confused about where in time we were, because the jumps would happen with essentially no label or smooth transition, and it would completely throw me out of the story. I also felt like the ending was a bit abrupt. While we were told what ended up happening with Nate, Dodo, and Moshe, I wish that we had gotten more "showing, not telling" with them, because the climax essentially suddenly ended and we got a short epilogue saying what everyone was up to years later. It was almost like the author was suddenly over it and decided to just sum everything up.
Still, the friendships, community, and Black and Jewish communities coming together was very sweet. I always enjoy watching different people coming together to solve problems with their own skills/abilities, and we had that here in the case of managing the water supply problem to the Jewish shul and