I was a huge fan of James McBride’s The Color of Water, which celebrates the strength of his white mother, who told her 12 children that “God is the color of water.” So, when I spotted McBride’s most recent release, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, I got it for my son. Then convinced my book club to read it. Then stole it from my son. I’ll give it back, I promise.
Premise
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store opens with a mystery – a skeleton at the bottom of an old well up on Chicken Hill. To figure out how it got there, readers must learn the story of the people who lived on Chicken Hill in the 1920’s. And what a colorful cast of characters they are. Jews, Blacks, Italians, and other immigrants scraping out an existence on the Hill, a few streets away but worlds apart from the wealthier, whiter areas of Pottstown, PA. Difficulties and disabilities plague the residents of The Hill, and yet, when a suspicious incident in a local grocery store lands two members of the community in the hospital, many step up to help.
What I liked
I finished reading The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store while visiting my daughter in Brooklyn. During our time in NYC, I actually walked through the Red Hook neighborhood where McBride grew up. Traveling the streets of Brooklyn and experiencing the diversity of language, food, and fashion offered the perfect complement to McBride’s book, which celebrates diversity. (I could not get over the distinctive hats I saw several Jewish men wearing in Brooklyn. The fur hats, called shreimels, are round and about six inches tall and a foot in diameter. They are meant to resemble a crown. Look them up!)
McBride’s writing is gorgeous. He expertly uses language to cultivate settings and characters that readers will not forget. In fact, McBride offers so many flawed, compelling, and curious characters, I almost forgot about the skeleton in the well! Some of his characters are dark and dangerous, but others embody beauty and generosity. His story exemplifies how small actions by people with limited power can make a huge difference. Like how two boys, one with significant physical limitations and one who cannot hear, develop their own language in the darkness of a crowded, stench filled hospital ward. Just when the plot starts feeling overwhelmingly dark, McBride shines a light on the best aspects of human nature.
Some of my favorite characters in the novel are women. McBride demonstrates their beauty and strength not just through physical attributes, but also through their compassion and determination.
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store explores the theme of connection amid differences, and the novel celebrates inclusivity. This theme feels particularly relevant given the present conditions in America. Some characters reflect the anti-immigrant rhetoric we hear today, and the book forces readers to give nuanced consideration to the plight of immigrants. McBride uses the words from the Statue of Liberty, “Give us your poor, your tired, your weak…” as a powerful refrain at the end of the novel to juxtapose the promise of the American Dream against this country’s current struggles with a just and sustainable immigration policy.
What I don’t like
As I mentioned, there are lots of characters. They are all well drawn and interesting, but it was hard to keep them straight. I wish I had started notes on an index card at the beginning of the novel to help me remember their backstories. There are also a lot of Jewish references which I didn’t understand. I’ve had little exposure to Jewish culture, so that made reading at the beginning of the story feel like work sometimes. But thanks to Mr. McBride, I’ve learned a few things about Judaism.
Recommendation
If you are interested in issues of diversity, inclusivity, and understanding people from other backgrounds, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store would be a fabulous read. Most of the members of my book club loved it, and it spurred very interesting discussion. If you pick it up, don’t neglect to read the inspiring acknowledgements from McBride at the back of the book.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
