The October Book & Film Group meeting

The next meeting of the Book and Film Group will be on Tuesday, October 24, at 6:00 pm. This will be a Hybrid event at the Lewes Public Library; up to 16 people may attend in person; we will meet in the Computer Room. Please note: many people are interested in this discussion, due to James McBride’s recent appearance. We tried to get a larger room, but the library is very busy that evening. All the in-person seats have been reserved, and the Waiting List has been turned on…but if you don’t have an In-Person reservation…please join us Online via Zoom. To get reminders and the Zoom link, please register.

We will discuss The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

Many of you had the opportunity to hear James McBride at the Closing Address for the recent History Book Festival

If you didn’t get a copy at the event, the book is available through the library, from Browseabout Books, and on Amazon.

The Story: In 1972, workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, found a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton belonged to and how it got in the well two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, the community worked together to keep the boy safe.

McBride has created many memorable characters and a vibrant world. He has gotten several terrific reviews in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate Magazine, and NPR. (Access to some of these reviews may be controlled by subscription.)