James McBride

McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by a shooting. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters - caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York - overlap in unexpected ways

Deacon King Kong

Gregor Gross

I really enjoyed the writing, and spending time in 1960s Brooklyn. It felt very vivid and showed me a life I had no clue about. I connected to the main character Cuffy Lambkin, and was intrigued by his story at the start. The writing was also genuinely funny, something that I think is hard to land in print.

Downside was there were a lot of characters, most of whom I didn’t feel you had time to get to know well enough. i felt like there was a lot of repetition, which was pages that could have been used to progress the various storylines. As a result the pacing felt really odd, to the point I thought I’d fallen asleep and missed a few pages! And everything got tied up super quickly at the end. 

Laura Hurst

I really enjoyed the writing, and spending time in 1960s Brooklyn. It felt very vivid and showed me a life I had no clue about. I connected to the main character Cuffy Lambkin, and was intrigued by his story at the start. The writing was also genuinely funny, something that I think is hard to land in print.

Downside was there were a lot of characters, most of whom I didn’t feel you had time to get to know well enough. i felt like there was a lot of repetition, which was pages that could have been used to progress the various storylines. As a result the pacing felt really odd, to the point I thought I’d fallen asleep and missed a few pages! And everything got tied up super quickly at the end. 

Amelia C 

The characters, the story, the writing! 🔥Everything was heartwarming, hilarious and so worth the read!
Pls go grab yourself a copy!

I was disappointed by the hype on this one. If you like Pride and Prejudice-type books where there are a million characters who just go over to each other's houses and talk to each other for 300 pages, you might like this more than me. But seriously, nothing happens plot-wise until the very end of the book.

Madi

Jayme Cochrane

By far the most entertaining book I read this year. Imagine a Coen brothers movie, but every character comes out of a Tom Waits song.

Loved this story by the end. There was a good mystery plot that keeps you engaged plus a vivid cast of endearing characters. I felt that the pacing of the book was very slow until the last ~150 pages hence the lower rating. 

Angie Van Sprang

Celeste Richardson

I don’t know how many times this book surprised laughter out of me. The characterization is fabulous. And poor, crazy Sportcoat has had a seriously rough life. McBride presented this unfortunate soul in such a hilarious light that I couldn’t help be laugh, even as I pitied him. The community presented here is an endearing mess of unique characters. Slapstick in some places, but successfully.

Summer Stanley

I really wanted to like this, but I struggled though. 
I did chuckle and grew to love many of the characters, but it took a lot of effort. 
The ending was not my favorite either - too wrapped up. 

Fraser Simons

Fantastic, vivid characters and a time machine for New York. Wasn’t anything like I initially thought either. The back jacket made it seem like it’d be pretty intense with maybe a whodunnit aspect but, while certainly serious at times, it’s pretty gregarious at heart. 

The levity pretty consistently present ends up humanizing every character, and the jumping around from character to character showing their intricate interconnected history made for an engaging read. I usually don’t like comedy much but the it is a natural extension of people being true to themselves, so I didn’t mind it at all. 

Quite an interesting concept, showing how the event impacts everyone around it. Just don’t expect it to be too serious, or you may be surprised. Pleasantly, or otherwise~

Jenna

What a book! The characters especially! This book warmed my heart, made me laugh, and kept me guessing.

Set in a housing project in Brooklyn called the Cause Houses in 1969, Deacon King Kong centers on an old alcoholic deacon nicknamed Sportcoat, who one day seemingly randomly shoots a young drug dealer named Deems. Everyone in the Cause Houses assumes Sportcoat is a dead man walking. The story takes off from there, and we learn about the backstories and lives of so many residents of the Cause as the story unwinds.

The characters in this book are larger than life. I was wrapped up in the relationships and friendships formed over the years at the Cause Houses. This book actually pairs really well with my current audiobook of The Warmth of Other Suns, which is about the great migration of Black people leaving the south. In DKK, many residents of the Cause, and especially older members of the Five Ends Baptist Church, have come from the south, and carry their past experiences and traditions with them.

The way everything in this book is woven together is brilliant. The story kept me invested, and every character is memorable and fully realized. After I finished this last night, I had dreams about the characters and the Cause. I really loved this one and can tell it will stick with me. I’d highly recommend it, and I’m eager to read more of McBride’s work!

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK 'A hilarious, pitch-perfect comedy set in the Brooklyn projects of the late 1960s. This alone may qualify it as one of the year's best novels.' The Washington Post From the winner of a National Book Award, author of the million-copy selling COLOR OF WATER, and THE GOOD LORD BIRD, soon to be a TV series starring Ethan Hawke The year is 1969. In a housing project in south Brooklyn, a shambling old church deacon called Sportcoat shoots - for no apparent reason - the local drug-dealer who used to be part of the church's baseball team. The repercussions of that moment draw in the whole community, from Sportcoat's best friend - Hot Sausage - to the local Italian mobsters, the police (corrupt and otherwise), and the stalwart ladies of the Five Ends Baptist Church. DEACON KING KONG is a book about a community under threat, about the ways people pull together in an age when the old rules are being rewritten. It is very funny in places, and heartbreaking in others. From a prize-winning storyteller, this New York Times bestseller shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, and that the communities we build are fragile but vital. 'Deacon King Kong is deeply felt, beautifully written and profoundly humane; McBride's ability to inhabit his characters' foibled, all-too-human interiority helps transform a fine book into a great one' The New York Times Book Review ______________________ What readers are saying: ***** 'Deacon King Kong is one of those novels whose brilliance sneaks up on you. I haven't been this pleasantly surprised by a book in a while.' ***** 'I do believe I just finished one of my all time favorite books.' ***** 'This book was a balm for my soul' ***** 'Oh what an absolute treasure this book is!' ***** 'The ending was one of those where you clutch your heart and want to hug the book (or your Kindle).' ***** 'Magnetic, hilarious and mesmerising storytelling from a gifted author.' What reviewers are saying: 'Cracking...Terrific...Deeply felt, beautifully written, and profoundly humane.' New York Times Book Review cover 'The sheer volume of invention in Deacon King Kong commands awe.' The New Yorker 'Among the greatest American storytellers of our time.' Bookpage 'Sets a new standard for multidimensional fiction about people of color.' Booklist, starred review

The New York Times and Oprah's Book Club Pick

Alexis Palew

Teresa Schultz

Monica

I enjoyed a lot reading this novel! A friend went to the library looking for a good book to read during her vacations and this one called her attention. The reviews were good so she got it. She loved it and recommended it to me, something I'm so grateful for!

This book tells us about an immigrant community living in a housing project in Brooklyn. The protagonist is the long-time alcoholic Church deacon, known as 'Sportcoat', though it does not revolve around him. A community cohabiting with crime and drugs, we get to know about these people who have defects, but who have a good heart.

It is a very fast read. The first part seemed to lead nowhere, but stick in there because you won't regret it!

Erik Wallace

Francine Corry

Udit Desai

Kevin Benson

Areeba 

Hannah Yoon

Will Vunderink

From James McBride, author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, comes a wise and witty novel about what happens to the witnesses of a shooting. In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range. The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride's funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters--caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York--overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.

Deacon King Kong

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