Author: James McBride
This book came highly recommended by my wife. When I asked her what it was about, she responded with “Just read it. You will like it”. If there’s one thing I have learned after being married for 30+ years is that she knows exactly what I like and do not like. Needless to say she was right as always.
James McBride describes life in the rundown Chicken Hill neighborhood of Pottstown, PA where Jewish immigrants and Black families coexist in uneasy but independent harmony. At the center is the love story between Moshe and Chona, the owners of an unprofitable Heaven and Earth grocery store that mostly serves the neighboring black community. Moshe Ludlow is a Romanian Jewish immigrant who has found success in running the All-American Dance Hall. Chona is an American-born Jew who’s father built the only synagogue in Pottstown. She suffers from some disability and hence not a suitable candidate for marriage. However, Moshe is attracted to her and asks for her hand in marriage. The rest of the book vividly describes their life thereafter and some of the interplay between all the motley residents of Pottstown.
The book has some memorable lines that made me stop and think. In describing the interaction between an Eastern European Jewish immigrant and his black neighbor who built the synagogue McBride writes, “What a man does to live often has nothing to do with how he lives”.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
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