This book deserves more than five stars. It is phenomenal. Beautifully written, emotionally wrenching, it’s a tale of a poor community of immigrant Jews and Southern Blacks in PA in the mid-1930s. Neither group trusts the other until an American Jewess, Chona, starts running a store that caters to Blacks. She turns a blind eye when customers can’t pay their bills, and she hands out small gifts to children, the most popular being marbles.
There’s so much love here. Chona and her husband Moshe remain passionately in love after twelve years of marriage. Chona and her best friend, a Black girl named Bernice, haven’t spoken in years, but Chona still loves her. Chona takes care of a deaf Black boy whom the authorities want to house in a horror of a state insane asylum, even though he’s neither insane nor mentally incapacitated. Chona is the glue that holds the neighborhood together.
There are many, many characters, and the first part of the book devotes a chapter to each. There’s a lot of humor, a lot of compassion, and again, so much love - of the author for his characters.
I tried reading McBride’s Deacon King Kong a few years ago and couldn’t get into it. I’m going to try again in hopes I find the same magic that’s in this book. He’s such a talented author. I’m bowled over.
Add Prime
to get Fast, Free delivery
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Frequently bought together
This item: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: A Novel
$13.87
Get it as soon as Thursday, Mar 27
In Stock
+
+
$13.37
Get it as soon as Thursday, Mar 27
In Stock
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Related Climate Pledge Friendly items
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Made with chemicals safer for human health and the environment.As certified by
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX requires every component of a textiles product—including all thread, buttons, and trims—to be tested against a list of more than 1,000 harmful regulated and unregulated chemicals which may be harmful to human health. The assessment process is globally standardized, independently conducted, and updated at least once a year based on new scientific information or regulatory requirements. Certification focus: #ProductSafety and #ChemicalsUsed.Certification Number24.HCN.99443Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Carbon emissions from the lifecycle of this product were measured, reduced and offset.As certified by
ClimatePartner certified
The Climate neutral label by ClimatePartner certifies that the carbon footprint of a product was calculated and all associated emissions were offset. Additionally, ClimatePartner encourages companies to set ambitious reduction targets and reduce their products' carbon footprints. The certificate number can be entered on ClimatePartner’s website for additional information such as the supported carbon offset project(s). ClimatePartner is improving lives by helping companies tackle climate change with practical solutions.Certification NumberLQ9BKPSustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Made with materials from well-managed forests, recycled materials, and/or other controlled wood sources.As certified by
The Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) supports responsible forestry, which is a vital solution to combat climate change. Choosing FSC-certified products – whether furniture, building materials, paper, rubber, or textiles – helps protect forests, wildlife, clean water and supports the Indigenous Peoples, forest workers and communities who depend on them. Choosing FSC-certified products can also help to mitigate climate change by supporting responsible management of the world’s forests. For a better future, choose FSC.Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Contains at least 50% recycled material.As certified by
GreenCircle Certified: Recycled Content
GreenCircle certifies claims that a product is made of pre- or post-consumer material when it is manufactured. GreenCircle verifies the sources of recycled materials and analyzes the recycled content used in the product to determine the percentage of pre-consumer or post-consumer content based on international standards and definitions for recycled content. A product must contain 50% recycled content to qualify for Climate Pledge Friendly. This does not include packaging.Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Made with chemicals safer for human health and the environment.As certified by
Cradle to Cradle Certified
Cradle to Cradle Certified is the world's most comprehensive standard for safe, circular and responsible products. Certified products meet science-based requirements that have positive benefits including health and wellbeing, material reuse, emissions reductions, water quality, and fair and safe labor practices. The Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard is set by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, a global non-profit dedicated to powering innovation for a prosperous economy.Certification LevelSILVER ACHIEVEMENT LEVELSustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Made with materials from well-managed forests, recycled materials, and/or other controlled wood sources.As certified byThe Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) supports responsible forestry, which is a vital solution to combat climate change. Choosing FSC-certified products – whether furniture, building materials, paper, rubber, or textiles – helps protect forests, wildlife, clean water and supports the Indigenous Peoples, forest workers and communities who depend on them. Choosing FSC-certified products can also help to mitigate climate change by supporting responsible management of the world’s forests. For a better future, choose FSC.
Popular Highlights in this book
Chona had smelled not a hot dog but the future, a future in which devices that fit in one’s pocket and went zip, zap, and zilch delivered a danger far more seductive and powerful than any hot dog, a device that children of the future would clamor for and become addicted to, a device that fed them their oppression disguised as free thought.Highlighted by 11,585 Kindle readers- “Light is only possible through dialogue between cultures, not through rejection of one or the other.”Highlighted by 9,367 Kindle readers
- He was a man without a country living in a world of ghosts, for having no country meant no involvement and not caring for a thing beyond your own heart and head, and ghosts and spirits were the only thing certain in a world where your existence was invisible.Highlighted by 7,098 Kindle readers
- He was a true Jew, a man of ideas and wit who understood the meaning of celebration and music and that the blend of those things meant life itself.Highlighted by 6,194 Kindle readers
From the Publisher
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
About the author
Wonderful
Five starts does not do this remarkable read justice. I could see and hear the characters…as if watching a movie. It pulls you in to feel…it pulls you in to the sights and sounds…the smells. I could see the town. I laughed, I cried, I got angry and then I laughed again. To be-able to write characters and objects that seem so alive and real is outstanding. The author does a great job at addressing the ignorance and entitlement, the laziness…all while integrating educated and sympathy along with hard work…to show the actual balance in real society.The justice given where sometimes the justice is not due and the injustices as to where that injustices is not due and it pulls you to feel the venerability and the need to save when the injustices is so outlined.The author gives characters room to change the narrative and shuts off that room to characters whom couldn’t care less about changing…unless it was to their benefit…again true to life.All in all this is a must read but be prepared to set your emotions on a journey. Word of advice…let yourself dive in those shoes…because even today in 2025 those characters are real and their struggles and thoughts are real…and some…their hate and their twisted mind (hence towards a child) is real.Also, by no means did the author fall short on the outcome…because it’s about balance and the universes way of righting a wrong…it opens up the possibility that as long as there is a breath…there is hope…there is justice…even if it’s called karma
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2025
- Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2025
Top reviews from other countries
-
-
- Kindle CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2024
Culturally vibrant, heartfelt and important
