Reviews

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

augustboxer's review

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

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

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, and Suicide

macaroniman's review

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

oversherin's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

I really loved the world of this book. From the first chapter, I was charmed by the characters. I did sometimes get a little confused about who was who, but I embraced that as a reader and it all sort of fell in place by the end. There is a balance in the book of how to portray the "Cause Homes" which objectively are filled with challenging poverty and violence but also complex and loveable characters. I think the book leans into portraying them as zany, loveable oddballs, but there is still a very real undercurrent of the mental illness, generational trauma, and poverty these characters face. Ultimately, I found the characters complex and beautiful. The book has a strong narrative plot, but it's also a series of strung together vignettes of different characters and how they mix in this neighborhood. Overall, I found it a little confusing in some spots but really really loved this book. 

erintowner's review

3.0

I bought this book after seeing James McBride on book tour. He writes how he speaks: meandering, colorfully, and entertainingly.

ccunliffe's review against another edition

3.0

Intriguing characters but slow plot. Really picked up in the last 50 pages! Really made me think about how do we put our expectations on other people and what does it mean to be a community (by choice or not).

indielittttt's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

bethmara's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

tamgperkins's review

5.0

Loved the audio narration. Wonderful characters that the author brings to life. Makes you want to go find the members of this community. Many parts make you laugh out loud and cry at times. Great book. I highly recommended it.