Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Deacon King Kong BOOK ∙ 2020 James McBride Oprah calls her new book club pick “inspiring, with a Shakespearean cast of characters—and funny too.” Since 2013’s The Good Lord Bird, James McBride's first novel isn’t a whodunit—it’s a whydunit. Set in an extensive housing project in ’60s Brooklyn, the book starts with a bang when “Sportcoat,” a moonshine-loving church deacon, shoots a young drug dealer in broad daylight. Sportcoat doesn’t remember exactly what he’s done or why, but what unfolds is less a criminal investigation than a fast-moving and loopy story that seamlessly veers from murder mystery to bawdy slapstick…