Deacon King Kong

James McBride is a big deal. He won the National Book Award for his book The Good Lord Bird, and Deacon King Kong is one of the biggest and brightest books of 2020. Set in a housing project in 1969, similar to the one that McBride grew up in, people are always up in everyone's business. We follow an old fellow called Sportcoat, who’s a harmless drunk and also a deacon at a small Baptist Church in Brooklyn. While intoxicated, Sportcoat walks up to the most dangerous young drug dealer in the projects and shoots him. The young man survives, but the ripples that emanate from that situation are many. This is a book about humanity, fortune and the basic goodness that connects us all. The writing is so genius your head will spin, and you will not soon forget these incredible characters.