James McBride’s backstory–his mother was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home and his father was a Black minister–makes his new novel, “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” an authentic historical fiction that showcases the outcast communities of Blacks and Jews in the rural American Midwest. There are, in fact, many, many characters in this complex story wherein we see reflections of the present in a memorable tale of good and evil. We do see that in the long run, good mostly triumphs over evil. But we also see that while much has changed since the early part of the last century, when this novel is set, and while we think of ourselves and our modern technology, not enough has really changed. And McBride makes that abundantly clear with his vivid prose and his lovely metaphor.