Heaven Earth Grocery Store Novel ebook Reviews Summary

Writing Style

Pros:

• "James McBride is a jazz aficionado and his latest tome reads like jazz, the way it can careen into cacophony and make meaning from sonic dissonance."
• "The first thing that struck me as I settled into the story was McBride’s assured, propulsive, scathing writing."
• "The prose is excellent, the author writes beautifully."
• "The quality of the storytelling is also rather timeless--it could have been set in the 19th century, as well as the mid 20th."
• "McBride paints detailed portraits of the characters, shading with comedy and tragedy."
• "The voices are authentic down to the tiniest detail."
• "This beautifully written piece is one of love, hope, & how joy can overcome adversity."

Cons:

• "Although I found the writing to be a bit difficult at times, the story is good."
• "Eloquently written, but not captivating, and overwritten."
• "It is so thick on extraneous information and characters you literally are waiting, hoping, anticipating the moment you can actually return to the central plot."
• "The pacing was a bit slow and tedious."
• "The prose is a little confusing at times, but you get the meaning in the end."
• "It moves very slowly and sometimes reads like a sociology textbook."
• "Wordy, verbose, confusing."

Characters

Pros:

• "There are numerous characters in this book, and some of them are the strong ones who drive the story."
• "The characters are original and complex."
• "Beautifully realized characters for whom you have great empathy."
• "Wonderful characters and plot development."
• "Characters were built well."
• "Despite being an ensemble kind of story, each individual character shines thoroughly."
• "The characters were portrayed so vividly that they almost felt like old friends!"

Cons:

• "The book has a slow start and it is hard to keep the characters straight."
• "Didn’t care about ANY of the characters."
• "There are so many backstories to each side character that it becomes complicated to keep track of all of them."
• "The characters are roughly drawn with larger-than-life attributes; an ability to tell the future, a hunchback or lame leg, a boy deafened by a domestic accident."
• "There were so many characters introduced, and I didn’t think the writing style lent itself to remembering them and keeping them straight."
• "The book never gave enough details about any particular character to get engrossed in the story."
• "There were so many characters in the book, constantly introduced even 75% in the book."

Plot and Storytelling

Pros:

• "Until 2/3 through you begin to wish you were as good as they. And the ending is the best, surprising and satisfying."
• "This is a highly personal novel for McBride because it reflects his life."
• "Mr. McBride has written a wonderful narrative that enters your heart and brings forth compassion for those who have been marginalized for so long."
• "McBride is a genius at teaching a lesson and exposing cultural samenesses in disguise."
• "Couldn’t put it down! Highly recommended!"
• "It is a story of love and redemption."
• "Just finished this novel and it broke my heart in all the ways a heart should be broken."

Cons:

• "I saw so many wonderful reviews and was so excited to read this book! It was terrible!"
• "I was bored - both times and gave up."
• "It is depressing that we as Americans are still experiencing the same issues today."
• "My only regret is the build-up to (spoiler here) Dodo's rescue. I wanted to know more about Dodo than a summary in the Epilogue."
• "A good read but does not have longing for a sequel."
• "The book has an almost fairytale or fantasy quality to the storytelling."
• "There is a nice subplot about love and kindness but that doesn't make the book worth reading."