James McBride 
Deacon King Kong 
Barack Obama Favourite Read & Oprah’s Book Club Pick

⭐ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND OPRAH »S BOOK CLUB PICK
⭐ CHOSEN BY BARACK OBAMA AS A FAVOURITE READ
⭐ TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NEW YORK TIMES & WASHINGTON POST

 »Brilliantly imagined, larger than life, a tragicomedic epic of intertwined lives. » JOYCE CAROL OATES

 »Deeply felt, beautifully written and profoundly humane. » JUNOT DIAZ, New York Times Book Review

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.
DEACON KING KONG is a book about a community under threat, about the ways people pull together in an age when the old rules are being rewritten. It is very funny in places, and heartbreaking in others. From a prize-winning storyteller, this New York Times bestseller shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, and that the communities we build are fragile but vital.
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From the winner of a National Book Award and author of the bestselling memoir, The Color of Water, and The Good Lord Bird, a TV series starring Ethan Hawke

 »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. » The Washington Post
What Goodreads readers are saying:
*****  »Deacon King Kong is one of those novels whose brilliance sneaks up on you. I haven »t been this pleasantly surprised by a book in a while. »
*****  »I do believe I just finished one of my all time favorite books. I loved every minute spent with Sportcoat and his community. A good old fashioned yarn shot through with truth, spirit, and humor. I LOVED it! »
*****  »This book was a balm for my soul, a portrait of a black church community circa 1969 with sweet characters (well, most of them), interconnections that stretch back decades, and a plot with more than one mystery at its heart. »
*****  »’Deacon’ has the texture of folk lore and fable mixed with the unexpected rhythms of jazz and the noisy streets of late 1960s Brooklyn. »
*****  »The ending was one of those where you clutch your heart and want to hug the book (or your Kindle). »