The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Pottstown, Pennsylvania

I adored this novel. With 11 days left in the year (and one book I’m currently reading), I’m going to go ahead and announce that this was my favorite book of 2023. I read this book because it won the 2023 Barnes and Noble Book of the Year, and it fulfilled the “book that came out in the second half of 2023” PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt. And good thing!

If I had to describe this book in one word, I would call it “sweet.” I think that’s refreshing in a book written by a black man about, primarily, people of color. That’s not to say there isn’t trauma inflicted on most of the characters, because there is, but the novel has an uplifting tone about community coming together to support one another. 

The novel centers around the community of Chicken Hill in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in the 1920s and 30s. Moche and Chona Ludlow own the titular Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (as well as a music theater). Their corner store is a staple in the neighborhood, whose residents are mostly Jewish, black, and/or have recently immigrated to America. There is a whole cast of characters in this novel, all which are given proper backstory and context. This is the bulk of the novel, so if you aren’t a fan of character-driven stories, you probably won’t like this book. The entirety of the plot can be summed up simply as: when a member of the community is wrongly sent to a dilapidated mental institution, everyone bands together to try to rescue him. But learning about the different characters along the way and how everything fits together in the end is what makes this book so beautiful. 

The style of this story reminds me a lot of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. That book had a loose plot revolving around a mystery with a litany of characters that were deeply developed. The Luminaries received a ton of praise, but I much preferred The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. I found the characters much more likable and the storyline had a better pace (perhaps it also helps that The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is only 385 pages and The Luminaries dragged on for 848!). 

If I had one criticism for this novel, it would be giving us Chona's perspective! We hear from the perspective of pretty much every other character mentioned even briefly in this story, except Shona. I’m guessing this is to preserve her sincerity and virtue. Being a second-hand character puts this air of reverence around her. Still, she’s a badass and for my own selfish needs, I would have loved more Chona.

I’m going to steal from the New York Times’ reviewer Danez Smith who said the book was “heart-blistering and heart-healing,” because that is exactly right. This book pulls at your heartstrings but comforts you before you leave. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for their next read! 

Review by the Numbers

Overall: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Message: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Character Development: 4/5

Challenges Satisfied

- Pennsylvania (Reading My Way Around the World Challenge)

- A Book that Came Out in the Second Half of 2023 (2023 PopSugar Reading Challenge)

- Takes Place During the Roaring Twenties (52 Book Club’s 2023 Challenge)