The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - James McBride

A young deaf black boy in Pottstown Pennsylvania in the 1920's and 30's is hidden from the authorities who want to put him in an institution as feeble-minded.  The downtrodden community of Chicken Hill, made up of African Americans, Jews and immigrants, band together to keep him safe.   

I've done research in Pennsylvania for genealogy in the area north of Pottstown, not knowing the setting of this book and was intrigued when I recognized the references to places in Pennsylvania.  I checked it out because it had received the Kirkus prize, a book award in 2023. It's based on the true makeup of the town at that time though the characters are fiction.

The author shows how disconnected and yet supportive a community can be, despite their differences. He reveals the misunderstandings and biases based on race and culture with gentle humor and heartbreaking consequences.

 I got bogged down in parts with the detailed descriptions used to illustrate the different perspectives of the townspeople and their living situations.  I sometimes lost track of the myriad of characters, where they had come from, and how they related to one another.  After finishing it and stepping back, the broad arch of the story was clearer.  A good story that should be read slowly.

Published: 2023  Read: January 2025  Genre: Fiction

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes

This book is the story of a young man, William, injured in the prime of his life and confined to a wheelchair as a paraplegic.  Louisa, a young woman, fumbling through life from one failed attempt to grow up to another, hires on to be his caretaker.  She learns over time that she's there to convince him not to end his life.  Their relationship starts out contentious with William's bitterness shocking the sheltered, inexperienced Louis.  She comes to have affection for him as he is and to respect his wishes.

The reviews and movie describe this as a romance story.  If that was the intent, it misses the mark.  Louisa's fumbling and lack of any desires of her own, make her as pitiful as William.  There are no heroes in this novel.  Not recommended.

Published:  2012  Read: December 2017  Genre: Fiction

Shtum - Jem Lester

This is the story told by the father of a severely autistic son.  Jonah is about 9 or 10 years old and does not speak, dress or bathe himself and still wears diapers.  He lives in England where a case must be made to have him placed in a special live-in school for autistic children.  His father, Ben, is guilt ridden over his conflicting feelings over his son.  His mother, Emma, is leaving them to create a single family household that she claims will increase their chances of a placement.  Jonah and Ben go to live with Ben's father.  He is grandfather stoic and gruff with his son, but shares stories of his youth with Jonah as he struggles with his own illness.

These are all hurting people with no end in site for the pain.  The intimate, inside look at life with an autistic child is heartbreaking and horrifying.  The toll on Ben and Emma's marriage, the relationship between fathers and sons are laid out in stark, biting conversations between people trying to figure out how to live with their reality.

The author in real life is the father of an autistic child.  I initially was irritated and put off by the self-pity of the father who drinks himself into stupors.  I finished the book with a deeper empathy for people struggling to live life in impossible situations with no end in sight. 

Published:  2016  Read: December 2017  Genre: Fictionalized biography