Reviews

Even McBride's secondary characters come across as rounded, and primary character, Cuffy Lambkin--note the low-key religious reference coded into the name--a.k.a., Sportcoat, a.k.a., Deacon King Kong, feels as if he could walk off the page and into the reader's house at any moment. And yet, even amid so much wonderful character development, McBride manages an intricate plot that moves back and forth in time and relies on multiple versions of the same event as told by different characters, each of whom adds to the reader's understanding of the novel's MacGuffin, a mysterious "bar of soap" around which the plot spins and unfurls. The effect is that of a blurry image gradually coming into focus and it's just one of the many pleasures of this story.

booksiesteff's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

lren1983's review against another edition

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funny hopeful fast-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

4.25

augustboxer's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

frostynettles's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

avidreadr's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

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

4.75

James McBride has such a unique way of crafting his novels (at least going by the two I’ve read so far). They start with a look at a community, with certain characters taking center stage. A situation is set up, something happens. And then we go on a long, meandering journey about how that situation happened and what the fall out is for the community. We continue to get sweeping perspectives from all sorts of characters, while getting to know some more than others. Little pieces of the "mystery" (we don’t even realize there is a mystery right away!) reveal themselves...themes and social commentaries start asserting themselves...and suddenly, by the half way point, I am 100% hooked.

My favorite parts of this book were

the scenes where Potts/Mrs. Gee and Elefante/Guido's daugther fall in love. These sections were so beautifully written!

Rating slightly knocked down because for the first half of the book I wasn’t fully hooked. I totally understand this is intentional and honestly super effective. But it doesn't take away from the fact that I just wasn’t as engaged for a lot of the first half. This is a personal thing - I like really getting into the heads of characters and getting the “psychological drive” of a character/story. As mentioned, this doesn’t really kick in until half way or later when all the pieces start coming together. If I wasn’t already aware of how McBride’s novels pay off, I may have jumped ship at some point. Amazing prose and trust in the author kept me going and I'm glad to say it pays off.

Content Warnings

macaroniman's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

4.5

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