Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

10 reviews

avidreadr's review

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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. 
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rileyboots's review against another edition

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funny reflective slow-paced

4.0

Unique story with deep characters — thoroughly enjoyed how real the situations and stories felt! 
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ncoletti's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

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lrcartee's review

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I felt like this book went in circles. I almost gave up about 25% but started to make some connections within the plot so I stuck it out. Upon finishing, I felt this book could have been just the last 20-30 pages as it summarized the plot and tied it together. It was just not my cup of tea.
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badmom's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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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lucybmn's review

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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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fionac326's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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amressing's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

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keatynbergsten's review

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challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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annareads9898's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

James McBride is phenomenal writer and this book was absolutely fantastic. I loved it so much (the characters were incredibly loveable despite their flaws) and when I wasn't reading it all I was thinking about was how I wanted to be reading it.   
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