⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3)

🎧🎧🎧 (3)

Genre: Historical Fiction/

Format: Kindle and audio (narrator: Dominic Hoffman)

Status: Borrowed via Libby

Published: August 8, 2023

Soundtrack: Midnight in Madhouse – Chick Webb

Wow, this book had a lot of hype, and there were so many good things: Fantastically crafted characters with overlapping storylines, beautifully descriptive writing, and trauma that left you in tears. McBride’s voice is unique, and he captures religious, class, and race tensions eloquently, leaving you both shocked yet also able to imagine this whole novel being a true story.  Yet, I was bored for at least 50% of the book. It felt like there was so much character development that nothing happened for the plot, and then a lot happened VERY quickly. My three stars are based on the outstanding writing and the web of connection and love McBride weaves among (the several) main characters. McBride crafts a sense of community among the Jewish and African American residents of Chicken Hill. The power and interdependence of this relationship are a core theme of the novel. Two distinct communities come together for a common goal. 

The Heaven and Earth Grocery store sits in the heart of Chicken Hill an eclectic neighborhood in Pottstown, PA. The beloved Jewish owner of the store, Chona, helps to care for the recently orphaned African American Dodo, nephew of the well-respected Nate. The story unfolds from there and we meet many other members of Chicken Hill.  We follow Chona, her husband Moshe, Nate, and his wife Addie and Dodo through friendship, heartbreak, discrimination, fear, and a plot twist that allows for a satisfying ending. 

While I struggled to get through this book, I think the quality of James McBride’s writing leaves me open to his other books, and I can see how this book would appeal to many. 

As an aside, the 1930s Jazz references were a real treat and inspired me to learn more about the life of Chick Webb. Hope you enjoy the soundtrack clip! 

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