CHOSEN BY BARACK OBAMA AS A FAVOURITE READ OF 2020
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2020, NEW YORK TIMES
'Hilarious, pitch-perfect... one of the year's best novels.' The Washington Post
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
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.
______________________
'Deacon King Kong is deeply felt, beautifully written and profoundly humane; McBride's ability to inhabit his characters' foibled, all-too-human interiority helps transform a fine book into a great one' The New York Times Book Review
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).'



![Bower, Tom PREORDER NONFICTION New Tom Bower: Betrayal [2026]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/bower-tom-tom-bower-betrayal-2026-9781785126413-1229179083_{width}x.jpg?v=1779886816)
![Swindells, Robert CHILDRENS TEEN FICTION Robert Swindells: Stone Cold (The Originals) [2016] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/swindells-robert-robert-swindells-stone-cold-the-originals-2016-paperback-60131427647827_{width}x.jpg?v=1773490698)
![Connolly, John PREORDER FICTION New John Connolly: A River Red With Blood [2026]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/connolly-john-john-connolly-a-river-red-with-blood-2026-9781399758475-1235063628_{width}x.jpg?v=1780734688)
![Unknown IRISH BIOGRAPHY Home Before Night [1981] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/unknown-home-before-night-1981-paperback-54552875172179_{width}x.jpg?v=1708422612)
![Magan, Manchan & Megan Luddy DELETE New Manchan Magan: Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun) [2025]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/magan-manchan-megan-luddy-manchan-magan-ninety-nine-words-for-rain-and-one-for-sun-2025-9781804583340-1189657813_{width}x.jpg?v=1779619578)