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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: A Novel

Written by:
James McBride
Narrated by:
Dominic Hoffman

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
132
Narrator
50
Release Date
August 8, 2023
Duration
12 hours 21 minutes
Summary
THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

WINNER OF THE 2024 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRIZE FOR AMERICAN FICTION

FROM ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2024

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR/FRESH AIR, WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, AND TIME MAGAZINE

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023

“A murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel . . . Charming, smart, heart-blistering, and heart-healing.” —Danez Smith, The New York Times Book Review

“We all need—we all deserve—this vibrant, love-affirming novel that bounds over any difference that claims to separate us.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah’s Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.

    As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.

    Bringing his masterly storytelling skills and his deep faith in humanity to The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride has written a novel as compassionate as Deacon King Kong and as inventive as The Good Lord Bird.
Reviews
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Bianca1976

Wonderful book! I was a little worried at the start when they were introducing so many characters that I wouldn't be able to keep them all straight but it all worked out in the end. The narrator was brilliant and made an amazing book even better! I loved the whole story

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Carol M.

James McBride developed many cross culture and hopeful American scenes. His characters were well developed and his story telling is so believable. Thank you Mr. Mc Bride.

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Marian Q.

James McBride develops a strong storyline and believable characters.

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FS R.

Wonderful book. Perhaps not perfect, but really excellent. Dominic Hoffman deserves an award for mastering so many accents, foreign pronunciations, ethnic tones, etc.

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Ann M L.

This book was an amazing look at our past. I didn’t want to put it down, and when I did I couldn’t wait to rush back to it. Great great great writing.

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Anonymous

Didn’t enjoy this book as much as others.

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Leon L.

such an engaging and wonderful story. Narrator is great.

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Susan K.

I love this book! Well written & narrated.

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Patty J.

Love this book! Love the colorful characters and their stories.! One of my favorites . James McBride is a master storyteller!

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Elisa A.

It was not easy to follow storyline. N word was overused.

Narrator was brilliant! Story was rich and layered. He was bold and told it like it was.

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Debbie F.

Wonderful narration. We are reading this in my book club and someone recommended listening to the book because of the engaging and accurate narration of accents. I was engaged in the beginning of the story as opposed to so many books that take so long to engage me in the characters and the story. The book was interesting with real life people being thrown in every once and a while. It was an easy listen.

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Jean T.

Too hard to keep track of characters

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Donald D.

As a Black person. I found this book disturbing. I personally don't enjoy the use of the N-word so frequently. Even though I know its use was branded about during the period of the story.

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Anonymous

It was a great read!

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Elena's Mimi

There were so many characters to keep track of. Lost interest 3/4 through. Powered through and finished it because I wanted to see Doc Roberts get what was coming to him

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Jimmy S.

Such a wonderful book.

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Anonymous

Excellent! One of the best books I've read in recent years!

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Pbnchick

5 hours in and I don’t know what is so great about the book. The author goes off on tangents every time a new character is introduced. The narrator is great and the only thing saving the book.

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Anonymous

James McBride is always a good read. I knew someone from Pottstown a long time ago and that made it interesting too! Some things in America haven't changed much. :(

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Mary D.

The story captures the intersection of immigrants and Black Americans as they warily join forces and struggle to find acceptance in an America that advertises freedom and equality, but fails to live up to its promises.

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Anonymous

The overall story was good but it it dragged on and included a lot of unnecessary side stories with too many names to keep track of.

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Norma U.

nice story

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Elizabeth C.

It was a beautiful book. There are many characters to keep straight and many dialects, accents and they were read with care and excellence.

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