Deacon King Kong by James McBride
(Format used for this book: Audiobook)
Sometimes I will start reading a book and I am just NOT INTO it.
I don’t really know what’s going on, I can’t figure out the purpose of the storyline, I’m not too invested in the characters. (that happens to me quite frequently lately I have gathered…..am I getting old?? Or maybe just lazy??)
I get a chapter or two in and I’m like “Oh man…this may not be quite as the enjoyable reading experience as I thought it would be.”
But then….
Boom.
Out of nowhere, some kinda book magic sprinkles down through the words on the pages and it all turns around for me.
In a split second, I am now completely engaged and invested and can NOT stop reading.
That is EXACTLY the type of situation I had while reading this book.
Here is the official summary:
“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 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.”
As you can tell by this summary, there are quite a few different plot lines running thru the pages. What you think are separate stories all end up having a level of connection that shows how every person in a community, whether they know it or not, are intertwined and affected by each other.
So so so so many topics addressed and layers to be peeled back and examined in this book, which I feel is a thing all incredibly good fiction books possess.
Here is a list of just some:
-Struggles and consequences of addiction on self, loved ones, and communities as a whole
-Complicated grief process after losing a loved one and the various ways human beings walk thru and process loss
-Systemic inequality and the effects it has on every single aspect of life for those who are oppressed
-The beautiful and complicated mess and wonder that is human connection
-Black American church and it’s value and importance in American society
-Human strengths and weaknesses gained from blind faith in religious beliefs
-Journey and experiences of immigration on first and second generation Americans
-Difficult struggles amidst the close and sacred relationships in the housing projects
-Relationship between police and inhabitants of those projects (“You don’t watch OUT for us, you watch OVER us”)
As you can see, there is a lot of heaviness and deep issues in these pages.
BUT…there is also plenty of humor and pulling of the heartstrings.
I was teary eyed many times while reading but I also had laughs as well.
I totally envisioned this book in stage form as a play as I was listening to it…I could just visualize the set, the actors, the experience. It would be EPIC.
The audiobook narrator did a friggin’ TREMENDOUS job with all the various accents and dialects of such a long and vivacious character list.
I totally understand why this book has been on so many “must read” lists (One of President Obama’s “Favorite Books Of the Year” in 2020 which is ALWAYS ALWAYS filled with literary gems!!!) and has won so many awards.
It is a beautiful narrative of the precious human connection that is possible and available even thru various levels of separation, pain and tragedy.
And the ending…..
Ohhhhhhhh the ending…..
It’s just unbelievably well written.
After you read it, you will think to yourself:
“Wow. That was a damn good book.”