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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A gorgeous, funny, brilliant and sad but ultimately hopeful novel set in 1969 Brooklyn. McBride’s writing is electric and some scenes left me absolutely devastated as when the close-to-retirement detective Potts, who is white, mulls over whether he should make his feelings known to a certain black church lady. (Avoiding spoilers.) Pure magic! I loved this novel.
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Engaging and unique characters though it took me a while to get them all straight (Sportcoat, Hot Sausage, Soup, Lightbulb??).
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like a Dickens novel set in the projects, but better, because--just saying--McBride is the better writer.
When Sportcoat, a church deacon and longtime drunk, shoots a drug dealer, everyone is sure his death is eminent. But expect the unexpected in hilarious - sometimes borderline slapstick - novel.
This was such a fun read as it felt like a low grade thriller, which I wasn’t mad at at all. I loved how all the characters’ stories came together and intertwined throughout the book in unexpected ways. I loved the characters Sportcoat, Sausage, Sister Gee, and Elephant. I loved how Hettie came and talked to Sportcoat throughout the book too. I also just really loved the very Black sayings from older folks in book like "You're so tight with money your ass squeaks when you walk." and “if ignorance is bliss, you is happy.”I loved that everyone basically got happy endings, with Deems being a pro baseball player, Sister Gee going to meet with Potts at Staten Island, Elephant being with the shy Irish girl Melissa, and Sportcoat walking into the water to be with Hettie in the end
Lots of fun well written characters but I didn’t have the interest or patience for the story as a whole. My attention would come and go with this book so I never could really get into it.
Deacon King Kong starts with the shooting of a notorious drug dealer in a housing project in Brooklyn in 1969 and the perpetrator isn't entirely who you might expect. It took a little to get into this book and I thought about whether I would finish it while I read the first few chapters. But I eventually had a sudden realization that this story is brilliant and enlightening, and James McBride is a master at subtlety. And humanizing people. And making you want the best for everyone you meet in this novel, even if they are an Italian mobster.
This isn't a book I would normally read, but man am I glad I did. Now more than ever, it's important to expose ourselves to different points of view and different lifestyles. Deacon King Kong helped me see something about people who live differently than me and the least I can do is recommend other people read it.
This isn't a book I would normally read, but man am I glad I did. Now more than ever, it's important to expose ourselves to different points of view and different lifestyles. Deacon King Kong helped me see something about people who live differently than me and the least I can do is recommend other people read it.