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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
You can tell after reading just one chapter of this book, that you are in for something special. Very colorful characters, wonderful dialog and a couple of mysteries to boot! Plus a glimpse into New York City poor black neighborhoods in 1969. The book works on so many levels, including, I'm sure, quite a few I missed as I just enjoyed the rollicking fun.
Fun/frustrating/uplifting read. Deacon King Kong seems to have some sort of guardian angel as every day he nearly faces death either through people being out to get him, the amount of alcohol he consumes, or just the living conditions of his neighborhood. For me, this is ultimately about the corrosive power of poverty and the need for mentors in our lives - and had nearly laugh out loud moments. Another keeper.
This was a fun read. Can you say that about a book whose plot centers on a shooting? I think so. For a while I was all over the place with this one. I'm not sure if I've ever read a book written in James McBride's writing style. The mixing of POV, quippy dialogue and longer descriptive paragraphs took some getting used to, but once I settled in I really enjoyed it. I'm so glad I read it in paper form, rather than attempting the audio book. Why? Well for one thing, McBride loves to write a LONG sentence. Several times I would be reading along and would suddenly notice that the sentence I was reading hadn't ended. Then I had to back up, find the beginning of the sentence, and read it again - more deliberately - b/c McBride can pack a lot into one (very long) sentence. In this book, the long sentences are intermingled with shorter ones, and lots of dialogue - so it was at times distracting, but not bothersome. The other reason I'm glad I read the paper book is b/c several times McBride relived the same event through the eyes of multiple characters. Sometimes this happened several chapters apart. I would be reading and think "I already heard this story. Where did I hear it? Who told it?", and I would flip back through the pages to find out. I loved this b/c it showed the connections between the characters - but it would have been difficult to do in audio form.
I feel like people who have problems with this book will probably have stylistic problems, and I hope that if you read it you'll take the time to settle into McBride's writing style and get into the story. Because this was a great story, full of complex characters, most of whom were connected in anywhere from subtle to explosive ways. And if you give it a chance, I venture to bet that as McBride meanders to weave characters and stories together that you'll truly enjoy the ride.
I feel like people who have problems with this book will probably have stylistic problems, and I hope that if you read it you'll take the time to settle into McBride's writing style and get into the story. Because this was a great story, full of complex characters, most of whom were connected in anywhere from subtle to explosive ways. And if you give it a chance, I venture to bet that as McBride meanders to weave characters and stories together that you'll truly enjoy the ride.
This book took longer for me to get into than I thought would be the case. It was amazingly well written, but switching back and forth between POVs in the beginning made it hard to follow along / pick up once I put down. That all changed about halfway through… I loved the way it all came together and how the characters were all intertwined. Elefante and Sportcoat’s storylines were solid on their own but once they met in his moms backyard I could not put the book down. Extremely well written with an ending that, while sad, felt perfect.
dark
reflective
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
Rounding up a little. Some parts I found very engaging and others were harder to connect with. The less engaging parts were kind of rambling and repetitive, like listening to an old timer who you felt probably had something interesting to say but was taking their sweet time getting to the point.
someone in an elevator told me the book was funny. I found it great character development, and a look into a world and culture not familiar, but it was not funny. Poverty, injustice, racism, hopelessness. I suppose resilience and community too, but still a level of deep injustice.
A novel full of flawed characters from the streets of Brooklyn in 1969. There's the black, the Irish, the Puerto Ricans, the Italians along with church goers, drug dealers, the mobsters. Some are insane, some poor, some crooks, and some cops. It all makes NYC and the novel a wonderful thing. Some pages were entire sentences that just worked. The tale moves along at a nice, crisp pace all centering around Sportcoat, aka Deacon King Kong. We're not quite sure what will happen to him after he shoots the local drug supplier, but each page unfolds more of his story. Where he ends up is a delightful surprise. Can you have a coming-of age novel about a 71 year old man? He is funny and compassionate along with the colorful other characters. The women of the church are hilarious. This is a love story, a fortune hunt, a mystery, and a telling of a neighborhood. I loved it.
3 1/2. This is a case of "it's not you, it's me." I just had a really hard time focusing or connecting here. Not sure why.