Reading Journal 2024: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Reading Journal 2024: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
Author: James McBride

There is some payoff in the end, to be sure, but I’m still mulling over whether this is actually able to overcome what were some very real obstacles for me. The writing itself is strong of course, and the book’s premise is alluring. I found the opening chapters to actually encroach on degress of brilliance.

My issues essentially revolve around the sprawling nature of the story. It devotes a lot of time to building out this world, and it takes a while for any notable trajectory to become clear. On top of this there are so many characters it is often difficult to keep track of, even spiralling into places of genuine confusion. The simple construct of the book’s opening chapters, nestling us into the basic mystery concerning the discovery of skeleton bones before rewinding us to the beginning (1920’s America) where we are introduced to two main characters (a Jewish husband and wife), the birth of a town, the Heaven and Earth grocery store that sits at the center of our couple’s story, and the main tension that pulls them forward (the Jewish couple’s interest in a young, disabled black boy being targeted by the law).

Where the payoff comes is in the larger thematic interests of the book. We could say love is its primary interest, or the power of love within community. So much of this book is built on fleshing out that community and exploring the different relationships that hold it together in the midst of larger systemic and oppressive realities. The notion of the Heaven and the Earth grocery store is meant to evoke this space where two competing ideas collide We get the horrific and the sacred, the good and the bad, the tragic and the beauty. One aspect that the author really nails is finding in that an opportunity to infuse the horrific with a sense of humor, giving us as readers permission to laugh in the midst of otherwise deeply uncomfortable realities. The laughter comes as the book prods us towards a greater awarness of the tragedy, opening the door for the journey to also enlighten us about the presence of beauty and joy that runs underneath.

This is the stuff that feels and seems clear. I am just not convinced the story itself is coherent and disciplined enough to support it. They felt a bit disconnected, like the ideas themselves exist apart from the world the author is fleshing out. It is possible that this is a very particular kind of read that needs the right time, space and place to fully immerse ones self in it. I had this tiny feeling early on that I dove into this one at the wrong time, which, for a book like this could easily derail the experience. As it stands though, I remained underwhelmed by this one given what it at least appears to promise in the early going.