#16 [2024/CBR16] The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

I picked up The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023) by James McBride because it was on a bunch of year-end best-of lists, including Barack Obama's favorite books. This one took a little while to get into as I figured out who all the characters were, but it was an interesting, well-written book. I can see why Obama included it on his list. This book is difficult to describe, and it's probably best if you just read it, but I'll do my best.

The story is centered around a Jewish woman named Chona, who grew up on Chicken Hill, a small neighborhood of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The majority of the book takes place in the 1930's. Chicken Hill is primarily Black and Jewish--all people not welcome in the nicer, whiter sections of town. Chona meets Moshe and the two quickly marry. The two live above the small neighborhood store on Chicken Hill. Moshe also buys a theater that he opens up to black folks, bringing jazz to the neighborhood, and making a good amount of money. 

Nate is a quiet, older Black man who works for Moshe. When his nephew, called Dodo, is orphaned after his mother's death, Chona helps care for him. A really bad combination of Chona's health, a creepy doctor and member of the KKK, and the state come together to spell disaster for Dodo.

Dodo is in a really bad spot and completely on his own when he meets the boy he calls Monkey Pants. Monkey Pants is selfless and brave and at least one scene with him had me crying. I think it was the most moving part of the book.

Much of this book is getting to know the neighborhood, including: Beatrice (an angry woman who used to be best friends with Chona), Fatty (Beatrice's brother who is a mover and shaker and makes money in a million ways), Paper (a beautiful Black woman who does laundry for a living and knows everything that happens on Chicken Hill), Big Soap (a friend of Fatty's and an Italian immigrant whose mother scolds him loudly in Italian). I appreciate that McBride created his characters with a lot more nuance than I've seen in other books. 

In the end, all of these characters come together in some ways good, in some ways bad that affect what happens to Dodo. In some ways, this story feels fantastical as Chona battles her illness and the bad guys get their comeuppance. But at the same time, the neighborhood feels very real. I found this to be a memorable, moving book. Recommended.