The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride flashes back to small town life in Pottstown, Pennsylvania after a body is discovered at the bottom of a well.

The neighborhood was a mixture of races with Chicken Hill being predominantly black and the town below white and European immigrants. There is also a Jewish community and much of the story revolves around the Jewish couple Moshe and Chona. Chona is a much-loved store owner in the Chicken Hill neighborhood, and her husband runs the music hall in town.

There are too many characters and subplots to summarize each. A pivotal event is when Chona offers to hide her friend Addie’s recently orphaned nephew Dodo, so that he won’t be put into a nearby asylum. This leads to an unfortunate encounter with the lecherous town doctor. Lives drastically change after this event.

The author connects everything to paint a clear picture of the town: discrimination, gossip, questionable backgrounds, friendship, and striving for a better life are some of the elements. By the end there was also a clear message of the impact of kindness and loyalty. And of course, the mystery of the body’s identity is revealed.