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Deacon King Kong
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction
Winner of the Gotham Book Prize
One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year"
Oprah's Book Club Pick
Named one of the Top 10 Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Time Magazine
A Washington Post Notable Novel
From the author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the best-selling modern classic The Color of Water comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year.
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in South Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range.
The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride's funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the White neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.
As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters - caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York - overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.
Bringing both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.
What the critics say
“Deacon King Kong is deeply felt, beautifully written and profoundly humane; McBride’s ability to inhabit his characters’ foibled, all-too-human interiority helps transform a fine book into a great one.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“A hilarious, pitch-perfect comedy set in the Brooklyn projects of the late 1960s. This alone may qualify it as one of the year’s best novels. However, McBride...has constructed a story with a deeper meaning for those who choose to read beyond the plot, one that makes the work funnier, sweeter, and more profound.” (The Washington Post)
“The sheer volume of invention in Deacon King Kong - on the level of both character...and language - commands awe.... And the sentences! The prose radiates a kind of chain-reaction energy.” (The New Yorker)
"McBride’s hilarious dialogue and an attention to detail reveals a complex local history. Capturing humanity through satire and witticisms, McBride draws everyday heroes." (Time)
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What listeners say about Deacon King Kong
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- Sarah Stewart
- 2020-12-17
My new favourite book
I cannot say enough good things or recommend this more. Not only is the story and characters phenomenal, the narrator was made for it. 10/10 would recommend
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- Troy Townsend
- 2020-05-07
good choice
i very much enjoyed this story and the list of believable characters. great voice acting
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3 people found this helpful
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- Margaret G
- 2021-05-28
Challenging to relate
I could not relate to much of the plight of these citizens. Blame it on White Privilege but there was not enough reference to be able to understand the circumstances etc. Worth a listen but only if you have extra time and credits.
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- Kareen Elliott
- 2021-01-22
I loved it!
well written, fantastic details. great story! well done. I will definitely recommend it to others.
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- joanne
- 2020-08-08
Just straight up boring!
I have read/listened to many books and this book was over the top boring. I picked it based on the reviews along with the Oprah book club choice. What a mistake! I find a lot of Oprah book choices terrible, Im not sure why I keep trying. Not again.
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