Deacon King Kong

A Novel

By: James McBride

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman

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

New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine

A Washington Post Notable Novel

From the author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, and the bestselling 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 to these pages 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.

Critic reviews

Praise for DEACON KING KONG:

“A mystery story, a crime novel, an urban farce, a sociological portrait of late-1960s Brooklyn: McBride’s novel contains multitudes… He conducts his antic symphony with deep feeling, never losing sight of the suffering and inequity within the merriment.” —The New York Times, Top 10 Books of 2020

"Shouldn’t we just get it over with and declare McBride this decade’s Great American Novelist?...McBride has a way of inflating reality to comical sizes, the better for us to see every tiny mechanism that holds unjust systems in place." —Los Angeles Times

“A raucous, poignant, humanity-embracing novel.” —O, The Oprah Magazine, Top 20 Books of 2020

“A story of comedy and compassion.” —TIME, Top 10 Books of 2020

“A boisterous, imaginative, tender foray into late- 1960’s Brooklyn.” —Entertainment Weekly, Top 10 Books of 2020

Great story, great performance. Period.

Wonderful story with fun characters and the narrator nailed the different voices. Well done all around!

Narration & Story are Excellent

I had to read this for my Book Club & may not have selected it on my own volition. I am so glad I opted to listen to this one. The characters are richly drawn and the narration truly brings them to life. There are times when it is laugh-out-loud funny despite the somewhat dark story. This is a great listen at this time in the US, but is not as "in your face" as some others many of us are reading in the midst of current racial equality conversations. You'll learn something while being highly entertained.

J. McBride does it again

I really enjoyed James McBride memoir "the color of water" when I read it years ago. He did not fail with this novel. The author has an uncanny manner for drawing you into the story and painting several gorgeous pictures as though you are there with the characters. Sport coat was such a rife character whom you would not expect to love. I mean as a New Yorker it made me rethink of the "winos" you see walking around and all the stories they may have and are running from in their addiction to alcohol. The book forces me to rethink the sociological differences of the "New Negro" young African American children who started selling dope as opposed to simply playing the doting role of compliant boy which is what the new negro thought the old man did in order to live up to the "White man's" expectation. I do not want to give to much away but toward the end I shed tears after becoming so vested.

Great book, weak ending.

Excellent story about real struggles with inner city urban issues. Wonderfully told but I suspect the author ran out of steam on how to conclude the book.

Good Read

Interesting story and characters. A little baffled by ending. Where is the Christmas fund money or did I miss it?

Heart, soul, fun

Wow. James McBride is a wizard. Here is a complex story about simple people, until we learn how the people aren't so simple after all. What a warm and wonderful tale about a moment in history that carries so much relevance today. Spectacular performance by the reader, too. Highly recommended.

Stick with this one

Just a great story on all levels. Maybe a littler formula. But you won’t notice that until your finished.

The whole package

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and performance. As a New Yorker I could picture so much in my minds eye. Loved this book and am looking forward to reading more James McBride.

Great book - Even better performance

Not exactly what I was expecting, but this was a great find. The narration made this book come alive! Very entertaining!

A homerun

This beautiful story has humor and humanity and feels so right. It was also beautiful read and rendered.