Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Deacon King Kong

Its a good read, but I found it very slow at the beginning and hard to engage with. There’s a lot of run on sentences (one filled half of a page) that can make it difficult to read in passing. Around half way it picked up and moved faster, which made it easier to get through.

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abbeyreadthis's review against another edition

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adventurous funny reflective 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

5.0

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective 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

3.75

Deacon King King opens with an attention-grabbing scene - a church deacon with a drinking problem shoots a teen who is selling drugs in the local housing project. And the action continues with plots for revenge, organised crime, a female assassin, and the search of an international art treasure taken as a souvenir during World War II. But where this book really shone for me was the characters - lots of them but all fully realised with interesting back stories and quirks - and especially the sense of community centred around the Five Ends Baptist Church in the Causes Housing Project. The sense of place was strong, with lots of warmth, humour and good intentions embodied by some admittedly flawed individuals who had each other’s backs. There is a lot to this book - plenty of characters to keep track of who all go by multiple names, and many seemingly disparate plot strands. But they all come together in a satisfying way and the overall message, one that emphasises love, kindness and compassion, means most readers will close this book with a warm smile on their face.

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lucybmn's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Honestly I thought this book was perfect. I loved the writing style, I adored the characters, and there isn't a single thing I would change.

Oddly, it's not a new favorite or anything, but I have to admit that it's a 5 star read nonetheless. (Interesting, because my fellow book club members mostly didn't feel the same. Yay for subjectivity!)

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cleches's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book! I listened to it via Audible. Dominic Hoffman, the narrator, was phenomenal. While their were a lot of characters in this book, I found them endearing (even the “bad guys“). They reminded me of the old church folk I grew up around. This book was a slow start, but I think it was necessary to build the characters and pull the reader into their world.

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planreadrepeat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

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julied's review

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challenging funny informative reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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babybearreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

What a messy, beautiful joy to read!

The book opens with our main character, Deacon Cuffy Lambkin, aka Deacon King Kong, aka Sport coat, shooting the streetcorner drug dealer, an act he does not remember (because he was wasted drunk) upon a young man he knew very well, even coached in baseball. Then even more question marks come into play in this 1969 Brooklyn neighborhood -- will the local drug kingpin get back at Sportcoat for killing his guy? Where is the treasure hidden that Tommy Elefante has to find, one that his father held onto for decades? Where did Sportcoat's wife, now deceased, hide the church Christmas gift money?

It is a wild ride watching all these threads unravel, full of so much heart and love for humanity. You'll laugh (there are some amazing slapstick scenes) and you'll cry -- McBride gives you a window into this community and I didn't want to leave at the end.

The folks in this neighborhood are not protected or cared for by the systems of America, and they know this. As they see the signs of things about to get worse, not better, the residents of the Cause housing project choose to be a family and support each other despite everyone's flaws, to face and survive -- perhaps thrive -- in this world TOGETHER. This book is hard to put into words, but I couldn't recommend it more.

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