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James McBride is an accomplished musician and author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, the #1 bestselling American classic The Color of Water, and the bestsellers Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna. He is also the author of Kill 'Em and Leave, a James Brown biography. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2016, McBride is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.
James McBride's website
This bio was last updated on 07/28/2023. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store starts in 1972 when construction workers in Pottstown, Pa., find a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of secrets kept by the people who live on Chicken Hill, a neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side. What do you think the novel is about and what inspired you to write it?
It's about a town, the people in it, and the power of love. I'm trying to tell people that kindness moves the earth, that small choices you make today towards the good can create great justice tomorrow, and that cynicism is like eating poison and expecting your enemy to die.
The novel is also a moving portrait of life for African Americans and Jews in the middle of the 20th century. How do you see this book fitting into our current cultural and political conversations about racism, prejudice, and poverty?
We've been having the same conversation about race, prejudice, and poverty my entire life. Here's the narrative that's killing us: "This country was nothing but woods until white people came." Serve that up, along with a generous swab of self-righteous Christianity, and you're on your way to destroying...
Nana Nkweti is a Caine Prize finalist and alumna of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her work has garnered fellowships from MacDowell, Kimbilio, Ucross, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, among others. She is a professor of English at ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Five-Carat Soul
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Walking on Cowrie Shells
by Nana Nkweti
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into more than fifty-five languages. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus, which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize; Half of a Yellow Sun, ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Deacon King Kong
Try:
Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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