• Plot Summary (from author’s website): “In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were 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. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.”
• Author Website
• Author’s Biography (from author’s website): “James McBride is an award-winning author, musician, and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, The Color of Water, published in 1996…”
• Author’s memoir on his mother “The Color of Water” (highly recommended by members Diane K and Melanie)
• Author’s other Books
• Author Interviews:
  • Video (all videos have captions)
    • PBS interview with McBride where he discusses the inspiration for the character Chona was his grandmother.
    • Riverhead books short video interview where he plays the piano and talks.
    • CBS Morning interview on the novel, and focusing on community and disability.
    • The Free Library of Philadelphia video interview/event with the author (it’s long: nearly an hour) but it is captioned.
• An NPR Fresh Air Interview (audio with transcript) where the author talks about his mother, positivity and kindness)
• A Washington Post interview where the author talks about his experience with disability
• This AudioFile Magazine post includes information about audiobook narrator Dominic Hoffman and a video interview (with captions).
• Historical Significance:
  • Of Place: Pennhurst State School and Hospital and Pottstown, PA. and Chicken Hill
  • Of Race and Religion: A Lilith.org article book club member Lynne sent that discusses religion
  • Of Disability: This very comprehensive MN.gov webpage on the history of institutionalizing for disabilities.
• Critical Reception of Book:
  • Reader Reviews (average rating is 3.95)
  • Professional Reviewer Reviews (listed as “rave/positive” on this site called Book Marks that aggregates reviews)
• Themes Discussed:
  • • Deafness/Hearing loss: Chapter 11: “Gone” is the first chapter written from Dodo’s point of view and we discussed in book club how well the descriptions portray deafness and hearing loss. This article in The Plough written by the author of a book we’ve read previously (Sara Novic who wrote “True Biz”) discusses how deafness is portrayed in McBride’s novel.
    • Remembering Characters in Fiction Books: We discussed the importance of remembering characters and names in fiction books (this book definitely stretches our memory muscles with the 83 characters it uses). This Book Companion website offers a comprehensive listing of all 83 characters.
    • Tone: We discussed a common praise for the book by readers and reviewers where the tone was described as hopeful. As a group we were mixed on whether we found it hopeful.
    • Hebrew Names: Members with backgrounds in the Jewish faith mentioned enjoying the names and finding meaning in the Jewish names used and their significance.
• Additional Topics Discussed:
  • Was there a movie or TV adaptation of McBride’s Memoir “The Color of Water”? Answer: No. The movie we were all thinking of from a few years ago that had a similar name was “The Shape of Water.” That movie won several Academy Awards/Oscars and had a mute character who communicated by sign language.

Next Book Clubs:

MARCH BOOK CLUB: Tuesday, MARCH 25, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.“The Boys of Riverside: a deaf football team and a quest for glory.” By Thomas Fuller (nonfiction), DB 124042 [ZOOM-Register Here] Zoom Meeting

“The Boys of Riverside: a deaf football team and a quest for glory.” By Thomas Fuller (nonfiction), DB 124042. Synopsis: “The … story of an all-deaf high school football team’s triumphant climb from underdog to undefeated, their inspirational brotherhood, a … portrait of deafness in America, and the indefatigable head coach who spearheaded the team.” Published in 2024.

APRIL BOOK CLUB: Tuesday, APRIL 22, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. FICTION BOOK TO BE ANNOUNCED [ZOOM-Registration Link To Come] Zoom Meeting

I apologize for the delay in getting you the book list order for 2025. It will be placed soon in its entirety on the Book Club Page that you can view here at any time: https://www.hlaatc.org/book-club/