The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Orion

9781399620420

400pp

Deftly plotted, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride tells the story of Jewish and African American communities coming together in 1920s and 1930s Pennsylvania. When, in 1972, developers come across a skeleton at the bottom of an old well, it kickstarts a mystery started decades before.

Featuring a broad cast, it can be sometimes hard to connect all the characters together, but once you get into the rhythm of the story, it no longer matters. You are swept up in the complex storyline, feel their characters’ emotions as your own, and are as invested as you can ever imagine.

This was a bookclub pick and, again, not one I would have picked up normally (although I was recommended it by a Waterstones bookseller once). At first, you have no idea where this is going; you quickly forget about the skeleton discovered in the first few pages, and the meandering nature of the plot makes you wonder if it will ever get to the point. But that’s not to say it’s not brilliant. The characters themselves become like family.

My favourite part of the whole thing was the visit to the Lowgods. This cast of characters was wild and exciting, and had something to do with Nate’s history (Nate being my favourite character to follow by far … after Chona). However, if you make it through the first two thirds of the book, the pace rapidly picks up for the final third, making for a dramatic conclusion.

Described by The Guardian as a “literary whodunnit”, I couldn’t imagine a better moniker for this novel. It combines that most heady of reading genres, the mystery, with the poetic luxuriousness of literary fiction. The characters make this story worth continuing, because the plot itself is so slow. Come for the community, stay for the grand reveal.