The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Synopsis: James McBride’s latest novel opens in 1972, with the discovery of a skeleton in the bottom of a well. Rewind to the 1920’s and 30’s, where we get to know the residents of Chicken Hill in Pottstown Pennsylvania. In this neighborhood, African Americans live shoulder to shoulder with Jewish immigrants. Moshe Ludlow owns a local theater where klezmer bands play. He decides to branch out and include jazz, to great success, and marries Chona, daughter of the local rabbi and owner of the eponymous Heaven and Earth grocery story. The community comes together to try and protect Dodo, a young deaf boy that the state would like to institutionalize at a local insane asylum (!) No wonder they want to protect him. We do eventually solve the mystery of the skeleton, but a lot will happen along the way.

Review: This was the book I needed at this point in time. James McBride wrote this book as an homage to his Jewish grandmother, and you can really feel the love for all (well, at least most) of the characters. McBride seems to specialize in the description of community, many many characters, with intertwined stories. And while I havene’t read all his books, this one makes me really want to go back and read what I missed! The beauty of this book is that while it exposes the worst of humanity (Son of Man, we are talking about you), it also illuminates the best of us. There is a lot of hope and humanity on display, and In our divided times, that felt really good. Besides, no one does nicknames better. Fatty, Newspaper, and MonkeyPants? The best part about loving this book is I didn’t necessarily expect to love it, so it was a fabulous surprise.

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: Black eyed pea hummus, courtesy of Michael Twitty. Merging southern culture and cuisine of the diaspora, Michael Twitty has his own cookbook (or perhaps a memoir with recipes?) called Koshersoul.

1 15 ounce can of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup tahini

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon hot sauce

2 teaspoons minced parsley, for garnish

1) Put it all in a food processer and blend until smooth

2) Add more spice if you think it needs it

3) Garnish with parsley and a drizzle of olive oil on top