Review: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

The good

• Some lovely, interesting characters.

• An interesting exploration of Black and Jewish residents living in Pennsylvania in the 1920s.

The not so good

• I didn’t find the main narrative/plot all that interesting. It just kind of meanders on.

• The book leans a little too hard into all the ways people can be terrible to each other: racism, antisemitism, poor treatment of mental disorders, child abuse, rape, child rape, KKK. It felt like a deliberate effort to collect all the Pokemon.

Rating: 3 stars