Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” by James McBride (Riverhead Books, 2023)
In this beautifully written novel, McBride explores how a sense of community and humanity can overcome differences, whether they be racial, religious or even physical. The “Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” is a neighborhood fixture and keystone, connecting the lives and fates of immigrant Jewish and African American neighbors in a small town in Pennsylvania. “Heaven and Earth” is the badly translated name given to the money-losing store by its owner and is also a metaphor representing the hopeful humanity of the owner. McBride notes that this story was inspired by the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam,” which roughly means the actions one takes to “repair” or improve the world. We could all benefit from some tikkun olam these days, I think. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“The Removed,” by Brandon Hobson (Ecco, 2021)
A Cherokee family, the Echotas, is planning a memorial bonfire 15 years after the murder of Ray-Ray, their teenage son, by a police officer. The action is told by alternating narrators: His mother, his older sister, and his younger brother — each of whom has been deeply wounded by Ray-Ray’s death. Another influential character is a teenage foster son, Wyatt, who touches the family in mystical ways. Of the multiple narrators, I was most interested in Tsala, an ancestor from the 1830s, who relates the tale of the Cherokees’ forced deportation to Indian Territory via the Trail of Tears. As an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, born in Oklahoma, I felt Tsala was speaking to me, this that I was the “beloved” he addressed. Tsala’s chapters weave connections between the voices of the other narrators in a manner I found reassuring. He provides historic context that deepens the novel. Some of the action is shrouded and confusing, as are the lives of the family members. But that’s all right, as Hobson has given me much to ponder. This is a novel that I suspect will persist in my memory. — 3 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“Up Home: One Girl’s Journey,” by Ruth J. Simmons (Penguin Random House, 2023)
This remarkable memoir is about the author’s rise from poverty to become the first Black female president of Harvard. As the youngest of twelve children born to Texas sharecroppers, her circumstances were both difficult and challenging. Through her love of reading and the support and encouragement of her teachers, family, and friends, she relates how she built on every life experience, both positive and negative, to create “the life I was meant to lead, not the one I was born to.” This is a book of great understanding on how we live and thrive; very inspiring! — 4 stars (out of 4); Susan Tracy, Denver
“The Last Ranger,” by Peter Heller (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023)
A mystery by an award-winning, Denver-based author, set in Yellowstone National Park, brimming with vividly lush and lyrical writing about the wildlife and landscapes there. Heller’s writing has an immediacy to it, placing you right alongside the characters, sitting on the protagonist’s cabin porch, sipping coffee in the chilly autumn morning, watching the elk graze in the meadow below, and trying to decide which hidden spot to fish today. And the mystery has you guessing right up to the end. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
