Deacon King Kong: A Novel
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Deacon King Kong: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

James McBride (Author), Dominic Hoffman (Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 20,073 ratings
Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction
See all formats and editions

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.

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  1. Listening Length
    14 hours and 5 minutes
  2. Author
    James McBride
  3. Narrator
    Dominic Hoffman
  4. Audible release date
    March 3, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B07Y2B6VJD
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 14 hours and 5 minutes
Author James McBride
Narrator Dominic Hoffman
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 03, 2020
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07Y2B6VJD
Best Sellers Rank #2,994 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#12 in Black & African American Historical Fiction (Books)
#38 in African American Literature
#130 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
20,073 global ratings
Enjoyable Meandering to Nowhere
4 Stars
Enjoyable Meandering to Nowhere
The central character here is Sportcoat, an old alcoholic who lives in the Cause Houses, a project in New York. The narrative, however winds around him, a drug dealing former baseball prodigy, a smuggler called The Elephant, and a host of other characters in around the neighborhood and its church, The Five Ends. No spoiler, but Sportcoat shoots the drug dealer; chaos ensues. Like, literally, the story goes all over the place, but not entirely in a bad way.I struggled to read this one, as in, I put it down for months and had to force myself to pick it back up. After some soul searching, I’ve come up with a few reasons. One, central to the course of events is all these ‘church people’ who do drugs, gossip, drink to excess, and lots of infidelity; not a knock on the writing, just a pet peeve of mine. Two, it’s a tragedy-fest for the most part; for example the titular character is an aged alcoholic, probably demented, grieving the death of his wife, and doing stuff he doesn’t recall doing the next minute. Three, I zone out and put it down in the middle bit, where all the various narratives were meandering a bit, as they needed to for the full effect; I have ADD.So, the characters are lively and colorful and engaging. The setting is immersive, illustrative of a slice of Americana, and well rendered. I spent a lot of the book knowing where the mystery was leading, so not a surprise, but I’m not sure it was meant to be, as the whole thing was more of a character study of life in the projects than a thriller. You’ll also find this thread of frustrated, awkward love throughout. Though not as overtly explored for most of the book, there is the idea of redemption, especially redemption in Christ, woven into things. I was not a fan of the ending, but I’ll leave that to you; I just felt that some narrative arcs dwindled to nothing and others got tied up in too neat of a bow for the overall tone of the book.
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Top reviews from the United States

ivbell
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story and funny too.
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
I loved this book. Sportcoat is a wonderful character; a flawed human making mistakes but also making a difference in his community. He’s joined by a colorful cast of characters including drug dealers and Italian mobsters as a series of near misses almost does him in. It’s more of a fable about what is truly valuable in this life and how, because of our own blindness, we often miss it. I found it a joy to read and the ending was quite satisfying. Sportcoat is now with his dear Hettie and, at least at this point in time, 1969 or thereabouts, all is right in the world.
3 people found this helpful
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Joseph S. Kieffer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great character development and compassion.
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024
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Well written and a tour of different lives striving to do better in the face of societies’ ills and unfairness.
One person found this helpful
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Kimberly
5.0 out of 5 stars Humanity of Criminality in Brooklyn projects with rich descriptions and plot lines
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021
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McBride expertly drops the reader into the projects in Brooklyn in 1969. His level of descriptive writing ability is rare and impressive. McBride plays on several themes as he weaves multiple story lines into a fully connected, cohesive plot. This is a technique that I personally enjoy seeing play out and I was overall pleased with the journey.

The primary themes in this story are friendship, family, humanity in criminality, mentorship, loss, poverty and home. The story immediately opens with action when a church deacon shoots a drug dealer. This is the primary plot line around which all other plots play out, until most are connected and resolved by the end of the novel. There are three main character groupings which are criminals, church attendees and police officers. The story illustrates the interesting complexities of relationships between these groups. For example, the drug dealer that the church deacon shoots is a 19-year-old young man that the deacon has known since the drug dealer was a small boy, and the deacon used to coach him in baseball and teach him at Sunday school.

There are multiple characters to keep track of in the novel and many of the characters have at least two names, one nickname and their actual name which is more rarely used. At points I wished I was reading an e-book, so I could highlight a character name and see where it had first appeared in the novel so I could recall the character’s relationship to others and origin.

McBride effectively crafts dialogue that sounds like it authentically portrays each group which helps to get the reader into the story. The dialogue is at times so funny that I laughed out loud. The characters live in a dangerous place but despite the fact the plot was life-threateningly serious, McBride paints characters that seem accustomed and desensitized to the constant danger, and they still have moments of joy, celebration, and happiness despite it.
The “Cause Houses” as a setting is practically another main character in the story. Most of the characters live in the Cause Houses and some are responsible for the care taking of it. If you are a reader who enjoys a strong sense of place, and you want to learn what it is like to live in a housing project, then you will appreciate this aspect.

If you are considering reading this book, be aware that McBride subjects the reader to periodic seemingly pointless rants on what appear to be disconnected topics such as lengthy descriptions of ants and cheese. I will admit I started to feel frustrated during these points, and wished McBride wasn’t quite so descriptive, as I was left grasping to connect these random descriptions to the plot line. However, if you continue to follow the through line, McBride will lead you to the connection eventually. (I still wish I hadn’t read the ant portion, however, as it painted images in my mind I’d rather forget.)
34 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Once you get into this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2024
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Purely escaping from life this book is an amazing vehicle. The people speak a slang that is hard to understand at first but the writing is compelling. If you can plow through the first few chapters, you will be rewarded and tears might fall at the end.
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Digital Rights
5.0 out of 5 stars A joy to read
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2024
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Deacon King Kong is full of all that I want in a book; passion, compassion, empathy, action, plot twists, humor and some fuller understanding of lives that I will never lead. Some have speculated that McBride places the story in the late 60's / early 70's so give us a taste of the old world that Black America lived in just before drugs ripped through whole cities causing untold havoc and pain. It's no romantic at the time but looking back it's better than what's to come.

Deacon King Kong reminds about the people that lived in the projects of Brooklyn and the complicated interplay both within the community and when engaging with police or other ethnic groups. It shows all sides which includes some of the good guys or uncommonly generous acts of love or sincerity.

For me it hits all the high notes. Well worth my time!
8 people found this helpful
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Timothy I. Lawver
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Meandering to Nowhere
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021
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The central character here is Sportcoat, an old alcoholic who lives in the Cause Houses, a project in New York. The narrative, however winds around him, a drug dealing former baseball prodigy, a smuggler called The Elephant, and a host of other characters in around the neighborhood and its church, The Five Ends. No spoiler, but Sportcoat shoots the drug dealer; chaos ensues. Like, literally, the story goes all over the place, but not entirely in a bad way.

I struggled to read this one, as in, I put it down for months and had to force myself to pick it back up. After some soul searching, I’ve come up with a few reasons. One, central to the course of events is all these ‘church people’ who do drugs, gossip, drink to excess, and lots of infidelity; not a knock on the writing, just a pet peeve of mine. Two, it’s a tragedy-fest for the most part; for example the titular character is an aged alcoholic, probably demented, grieving the death of his wife, and doing stuff he doesn’t recall doing the next minute. Three, I zone out and put it down in the middle bit, where all the various narratives were meandering a bit, as they needed to for the full effect; I have ADD.

So, the characters are lively and colorful and engaging. The setting is immersive, illustrative of a slice of Americana, and well rendered. I spent a lot of the book knowing where the mystery was leading, so not a surprise, but I’m not sure it was meant to be, as the whole thing was more of a character study of life in the projects than a thriller. You’ll also find this thread of frustrated, awkward love throughout. Though not as overtly explored for most of the book, there is the idea of redemption, especially redemption in Christ, woven into things. I was not a fan of the ending, but I’ll leave that to you; I just felt that some narrative arcs dwindled to nothing and others got tied up in too neat of a bow for the overall tone of the book.
Customer image
Timothy I. Lawver
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Meandering to Nowhere
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021
The central character here is Sportcoat, an old alcoholic who lives in the Cause Houses, a project in New York. The narrative, however winds around him, a drug dealing former baseball prodigy, a smuggler called The Elephant, and a host of other characters in around the neighborhood and its church, The Five Ends. No spoiler, but Sportcoat shoots the drug dealer; chaos ensues. Like, literally, the story goes all over the place, but not entirely in a bad way.

I struggled to read this one, as in, I put it down for months and had to force myself to pick it back up. After some soul searching, I’ve come up with a few reasons. One, central to the course of events is all these ‘church people’ who do drugs, gossip, drink to excess, and lots of infidelity; not a knock on the writing, just a pet peeve of mine. Two, it’s a tragedy-fest for the most part; for example the titular character is an aged alcoholic, probably demented, grieving the death of his wife, and doing stuff he doesn’t recall doing the next minute. Three, I zone out and put it down in the middle bit, where all the various narratives were meandering a bit, as they needed to for the full effect; I have ADD.

So, the characters are lively and colorful and engaging. The setting is immersive, illustrative of a slice of Americana, and well rendered. I spent a lot of the book knowing where the mystery was leading, so not a surprise, but I’m not sure it was meant to be, as the whole thing was more of a character study of life in the projects than a thriller. You’ll also find this thread of frustrated, awkward love throughout. Though not as overtly explored for most of the book, there is the idea of redemption, especially redemption in Christ, woven into things. I was not a fan of the ending, but I’ll leave that to you; I just felt that some narrative arcs dwindled to nothing and others got tied up in too neat of a bow for the overall tone of the book.
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9 people found this helpful
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Kimberly
5.0 out of 5 stars Tour de Force
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
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What a beautiful story, written by a beautiful author. Its is worth the read! I highly recommend. Don't listen to the haters.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Dianne Ferris
5.0 out of 5 stars A best selling author
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
This author never disappoints.
Good enough for use in any book club
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CHARVOLEN A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in France on May 7, 2024
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I loved this book. Funny, touching, real...and with a message.
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gerardpeter
5.0 out of 5 stars A Brooklyn Novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2021
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This novel was recommended by the New York Times. Once I got to know the characters, I became charmed by their stories. I was sad to reach the end but left with a warm fuzzy feeling.

It is set in Brooklyn in the housing projects where the author was born and brought up. The year is 1969, but Apollo 11 is a very long way off. It is cleverly referenced by the moonflowers growing in the empty lots of Red Hook. And cheese!

The story begins with a shooting, introducing us to the victim, Deems, and the shooter, an eccentric old man, nicknamed Deacon King Kong after his preferred illicit brew. This is only one of several plot lines played out by a wonderful cast of characters, managed beautifully by the author. James MacBride gives the best lines to the old people.

The Cause Houses are grim as heroin moves into an abandoned community. The Italians who came to work the docks are [almost] all gone, and the wharfs are used by smugglers. Heroin is coming in on the tide. Most of the characters bemoan the decline, but the little gospel church, Five Ends Baptist, stands strong and traditional values are held firm by the older female congregants. They have faith and the story offers hope.

There are similarities with Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda, also set in Red Hook, with a diverse cast and a great read.
3 people found this helpful
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1stein2
5.0 out of 5 stars Cannery Row in New York?
Reviewed in Germany on December 16, 2020
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Life is hard all around us. Good literature helps us to see the spark of deep humanity and our ability to discover humanity even in the most desparate surroundings. It gives us hope that there can be a brighter future for us if we look beyond all prejudices and biases, no matter where you see yourself in our new BIPOCW world.

Deacon King Kong is such a story. Full of heart, humor, tough reality. I was reminded of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row which showed a deeply human community in the midst of a tough world. James McBride has given us a 2010s version of it.

This will make a great gift - for yourself, of course!
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Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Good story, great writing
Reviewed in Japan on December 1, 2021
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The story is great and the writing is fantastic. Highly recommended.
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