Book info

• Title Deacon King Kong
• Author James McBride
• Year 2020
• Genre Mystery

The year is 1969. In a housing project in south Brooklyn, a shambling old church deacon called Sportcoat shoots - for no apparent reason - the local drug-dealer who used to be part of the church's baseball team. The repercussions of that moment draw in the whole community, from Sportcoat's best friend - Hot Sausage - to the local Italian mobsters, the police (corrupt and otherwise), and the stalwart ladies of the Five Ends Baptist Church.

Thoughts

This isn’t a book I would have picked up without Oprah telling me to but I’m glad she did. I had one false start with it, but on the second attempt I really got into the story. I’ll be honest, it’s a world I know nothing about and found difficult to fully understand - lots of drugs and guns and nicknames and people being mean to each other even though they liked each other.

But, it was fun to explore this amazing cast of characters, a sprawling community that are trying ot make the best of their difficult circumstances.

Rating: 3 / 5