James McBride
Deacon King Kong by James McBride is an absolute masterpiece.
Set in the vicinity of a south Brooklyn housing project in 1969, McBride’s novel sizzles with energy. At its center is seventy-one-year-old Sportcoat, the deacon of Five Ends Baptist Church who ambles through life with the aid of a home brew he has affectionately labeled King Kong. For some inexplicable reason, Sportcoat wakes up one morning and fires a gun at the young ringleader of the local drug gang. Over a dozen people witness the incident, but no one steps forward to assist the police. As for Sportcoat, he was so drunk he has no recollection of the incident.
Sportcoat’s action sets off a series of events that involve local police; drug gangs fighting over territory; the hunt for a mysterious artefact smuggled out of Europe after the war; murders; several attempted murders; a contract on Sportcoat’s life; lucky escapes; the occasional slap-stick humor; coincidences; love interests; a big-hearted, lonely policeman; honorable and not so honorable mobsters and drug-dealers; charitable acts; and several disparate threads that eventually converge. Infuse every page with humor and a delightful cast of characters who share a common history, invade one another’s lives, continuously spout their opinions, and fiercely protect one another from outsiders, and you begin to get a taste of the electricity surging throughout in the novel.
The housing project neighborhood is racially and ethnically diverse. McBride’s motely cast of characters are colorful, unique, and easily identifiable should they step off the page. Their dialogue is an authentic replication of the back and forth of actual speech. They are flawed, loveable, and street-smart. Although they are very aware of the racial inequities in society and their drug-infested, crime-riddled neighborhood, they are not bitter. Their lives intertwine with one another. They attend church, bicker profusely, laugh at the ironies in life, and love and support each other with a fierce intensity that is unshakeable. What emerges is their powerful sense of community.
The novel moves at a breath-taking pace with the occasional interruption of a character’s back story. The prose radiates energy, capturing the vibrant pulse of the community. The sentences can extend for several lines, piling on details and images. Chapter 7, which describes the progression of a colony of red killer ants from Colombia to their invasion of the housing project in Brooklyn, is nothing short of brilliant. How McBride manages to pack so much and juggle it all with such dexterity is a testament to his absolute genius.
A boisterous barrel of fun. Very highly recommended.