Deacon King Kong (McBride) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Cracking…Terrific…Deeply felt, beautifully written, and profoundly humane.
New York Times Book Review (Cover story)


McBride’s hilarious dialogue and an attention to detail reveals a complex local history. Capturing humanity through satire and witticisms, McBride draws everyday heroes.
Time


McBride returns with an improbably hilarious tapestry of late '60s Brooklyn, and an eclectic group of individuals that bore witness to a fatal shooting.
Entertainment Weekly


(Starred review) With a Dickensian wealth of quirky characters, a sardonic but humane sense of humor reminiscent of Mark Twain…, McBride creates a lived-in world where everybody knows everybody’s business. This generous, achingly funny novel will delight and move readers.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review) Much is unpacked by the time the book reaches its lovely and heartfelt climax, as McBride shows what can happen when people set aside their differences. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Spike Lee. —Stephen Schmidt, Greenwich Lib., CT
Library Journal


(Starred review) While historical fiction fans will appreciate the richly detailed approach to Brooklyn’s grittiness, McBride's neighborhood saga ultimately sets a new standard for multidimensional fiction about people of color.
Booklist


(Starred review) McBride has a flair for fashioning comedy whose buoyant outrageousness barely conceals both a steely command of big and small narrative elements and a river-deep supply of humane intelligence. An exuberant comic opera set to the music of life.
Kirkus Reviews