This is the latest book by the author of The Good Lord Bird which I think is an excellent historical fiction novel. This one is also historical fiction which begins in 1972 with the finding of a skeleton and a mezuzah in an abandoned well on Chicken Hill in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The story of the body and mezuzah are then explained by a flash back to earlier in the century and the residents of Chicken Hill which were mostly hard working Jewish immigrants and African-Americans who weren't wanted in the white town. Moshe and Chona Ludlow are the main characters. Moshe runs a theater in town where popular vaudeville and musical acts perform. Chona grew up on Chicken Hill and runs the grocery store on the hill, a store which makes no profit because she makes sure to provide for those who cannot buy. She frequently angers the people in town with her left of center political activity. Nate, the African-American janitor at the Moshe's theater asks the Ludlows for help protecting his deaf nephew, Dodo, who the state wants to institutionalize. But when Chona is attacked by the town's evil doctor and Dodo defends her, he ends up in the horrible state home for the insane. The residents of Chicken Hill join together with the friends and family of the Ludlows to rescue Dodo. The mystery of the body in the well is explained at the end. In addition to the main characters there are many other residents of the hill with small but important parts to the story and interesting names like Fatty, Big Soap, Paper, Son of Man, Monkey Pants, Miggy, and more. All serve to flesh out the story and the plot which is far from linear.
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