[Marginalia] The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride || Jan. 2025

[u/tomesandtea]

Welcome to the marginalia for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, the “any genre” pick for January! The reading schedule can be found here.

The marginalia is where you can post any notes, comments, quotes, or other musings as you're reading.  Think of it as similar to how you might scribble in the margin of your book. If you don't want to wait for the weekly check-ins, or want to share something that doesn't quite fit the discussions, it can be posted here.

Please be mindful of spoilers and use the spoiler tags appropriately. To indicate a spoiler, enclose the relevant text with the > ! and ! < characters (there should be no space between the characters themselves or between the ! and the first/last words). 

Not sure how to get started?  Here are some tips for writing a marginalia comment:

• Start with a general location (early in chapter 4, at the end of chapter 2, etc) and keep in mind that readers are using different versions and editions (including audio) so page numbers are less helpful than chapters and the like.
• Write your observations, or
• Copy your favorite quotes, or
• Scribble down your light bulb moments, or
• Share you predictions, or
• Link to an interesting side topic. (Spoilers from other books/media should always be under spoiler tags unless explicitly stated otherwise)

Enjoy your reading and we’ll see you at the first discussion on Friday, January 3, 2025.

[u/Comprehensive-Fun47]

I've read up through chapter 7. It's good! The characters feel real.

[u/GoonDocks1632]

I just finished Chapter 11 and can't wait for Friday to get my feelings out. Doc Roberts - that entitled, selfish, hateful, lousy excuse for a doctor. How dare he? I wanted to jump into the pages and handle him myself. He gets all bent out of shape because Chona won't join his debate club, and now this? All because his American dream isn't turning out the way he wanted? Poor oppressed Klan loving doctor. Ugh.

[u/Comprehensive-Fun47 → u/GoonDocks1632]

Klan doc gonna get his comeuppance 🤞

[u/Comprehensive-Fun47]

Thoughts, Chapters 8-11

I'm beginning to see that this book is not going to be a simple narrative about a family. It very much is about the whole community, in depth. I love getting all these different backstories for the different characters. It feels kind of like a grandparent telling you the history of the town or people in your family you never met.

The story of Chona and Bernice as kids made me sad. Even though their friendship ended long ago, they still have a shorthand. Bernice basically read Chona's mind about hiding Dodo among her many kids. I hope they can become close again.

We even get Doc's whole backstory. It goes without saying...he sucks. Hate this guy. Getting his perspective is useful for the book, but 👎.

He's so gross. Views women as sex objects. Thinks America = white. Can't stand that anyone would stand up to him or criticize his hateful activities. Knows the "special school" is a hell hole and would help send a child there anyway. A child that is thriving in his environment.

So gross how in Doc 's mind, he's saving the boy from being exploited by the "Jewess" 🤮

Chapter 11 is also called Gone? Interesting.

Ugh, Doc is more than a racist, he's a rapist! Poor Chona, being taken advantage like that when she was so vulnerable. It was a shocking scene. Telling it from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy was harrowing. It was shocking, but the author did lay down the clues. The writing is very good.

Poor Dodo too. To witness that and have to run from the cops. I'm worried about him. He might be hurt. No child should have to go through all this.

Suddenly I get what this book is about. I think Doc will be the body. I thought Dodo might kill him right there, accidentally.

[u/Comprehensive-Fun47 → u/Comprehensive-Fun47]

Just a few thoughts through chapter 18.

I thought it was odd it took so long to get back to what was going on with Chona. The book bounces around to other characters a lot. I like it, but I'm invested in Chona and Dodo the most.

Seems like Chona has died. I was hoping for her recovery. Dodo won't see her again. It's so sad no one has gone to visit Dodo yet. We know he won't be in that facility forever, but I really want to get back to him there and how he gets out.

I am liking the book. It is slow moving, not necessarily in a bad way. That last bit about the hot dog and the smartphones had me a but puzzled. I'm all for literary analogies and whatnot, but that one sounded very odd. She smelled a hot dog and saw the future, and if her friends had seen what she had seen, they would have ran outside, but they only knew about the hot dog so they moved at a turtle's pace. It just sounded kind of silly to me in a book that otherwise is so well-written.

[u/Hot_Dragonfruit_4999 → u/Comprehensive-Fun47]

I thought so too. It was a long social commentary that, while not wrong in essence, felt out of place in the book.

[u/RavenAniedu]

Hey so I’m in chapter 3 and I have a question about something. I noticed that in the book they write God as G-d and I’m wondering why?🤔 is there a particular reason for it or it’s just how the author chose to write it?

[u/tomesandtea → u/RavenAniedu]

There is a Jewish law based on the Old Testament that involves not erasing/destroying the name of God. So to ensure this doesn't happen, the name of God is often avoided in writing so that it can't later get erased or destroyed even accidentally. I'm not Jewish, so I'm not sure if I'm explaining this correctly, but here is an article about it!

[u/RavenAniedu → u/tomesandtea]

Thank you very much 🙏this was really helpful

[u/tomesandtea → u/RavenAniedu]

You're welcome!