Deacon King Kong takes place in the projects of Brooklyn during the late 1960s. It loosely follows Deacon King Kong aka Sportcoat. Sportcoat is an elderly drunk Black man, cobbling together a series of small jobs to make a living and keep himself busy. One day, he gets drunk and shoots Deems, the young local drug dealer, in the head. This sets off a chain of events that are at times hilarious and slapstick and at other deeply profound.

This book reminded a bit of Olive Kitteridge with its slightly unlikable protagonist who comes and goes in a variety of other characters’ stories. However, unlike Olive, there is strong plot line that runs through the story, bringing these characters together. There are a lot of characters, and many have funny nicknames, but that adds levity to a book that could have been super serious. I enjoyed McBride’s ability to switch between tongue-in-cheek jokes and powerful prose commenting on poverty and race in the projects. This book was so unique and not what I was expecting going into it, which made it all the more enjoyable. I can see why there have been rave reviews and why Oprah picked it as her next book club read!