The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

"Chona had never been one to play by the rules of American society. She did not experience the world as most people did. To her, the world was not a china closet where you admire this and don't touch that. Rather, she saw it as a place where every act of living was a chance for tikkun olam, to improve the world. The tiny woman with the bad foot was all soul."

                 -from the novel

I really wanted to like this book. It had been a NYT bestseller for so long and our book club made it an end-of-the-year selection because it would be easier to find a copy. I was very disappointed. I found it very confusing with so many characters and the story seemed to jump from one conflict to another. Hard to keep it all straight.

Chona Ludlow, wife of Moshe, owns the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store in the Pennsylvania neighborhood of Chicken Hill. It is a mostly Jewish and Black area with typical racial tensions. Chona was an especially likeable character, as you might guess from the quote I selected. She becomes the guardian for a black deaf 12-year-old boy named Dodo who is like the son she never had. 

When Dodo is falsely accused of a crime and sent to the notorious Pennhurst State Hospital, plans are made by a few of the neighbors to break him out. Finding out what happened to Dodo is probably what kept me reading. That and the fact that it is a Page Turners selection. I am generously giving the novel a 3 but I was thinking 2 for a while. I look forward to our group discussion so I can hear what others found enjoyable.

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Twelve of our members met to discuss Heaven and Earth... The book received an average rating of 3.7. Four participants loved the book and it was interesting to hear their thoughts. They appreciated the writing style and the plot. One had listened to the audio version and enjoyed it very much. Another said a second reading added to her appreciation. A couple of ladies said they took notes which helped them keep up with multiple characters who dropped in and out of the story at times. I wish I had done that!

Several members agreed with me that the maltreatment of Dodo kept them turning pages to finish the novel.