--- product_id: 198863862 title: "Deacon King Kong: A Novel" price: "205 kr" currency: ISK in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.is/products/198863862-deacon-king-kong-a-novel store_origin: IS region: Iceland --- # Deacon King Kong: A Novel **Price:** 205 kr **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Deacon King Kong: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** 205 kr with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.is](https://www.desertcart.is/products/198863862-deacon-king-kong-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: Deacon King Kong: A Novel (Audible Audio Edition): James McBride, Dominic Hoffman, Penguin Audio: Books Review: A literature treasure - It's one of these rare books that you don't want to ever end. The story is written by a real talent. It is funny, witty, engaging, and inspiring. You can't avoid falling in love with these simple, good-hearted, inspiring characters who struggle to live their very basic and deprived lives, and yet they are full of belief and optimism and, surprisingly, can convey their good spirits to the reader. The storyline is full and rich. As the story unveils, missing parts fall into their place, and the story achieves its completeness. The spoken language fantastically follows the actual slang yet is charming and easy to follow. This was a most pleasing reading, and I'm sure I'll read more books by the author. Review: truth in stereotypes - how does a black writer dare to write a novel, situating in a housing project alcoholic old men, young men slinging dope, church folk and their saturday night shortcomings, formations of ants so bad, as the saying goes, they will pull switchblades on rats and take away their cheese? and, in case, the black humor is too subtle, there is cheese in this story, lots of cheese. by embracing the stereotypes and following their stories. the deacon, sportcoat as he’s known throughout the projects, doesn’t drink any more since hettie, his wife, died, not that he drinks any less, an alcoholic who favors a rotgut by the name king kong. hettie may be dead, but no reason for sportcoat not to have conversations with her. sportcoat used to coach a youth baseball team in the projects. things fell apart when dope moved into the neighborhood, claiming sportcoat’s star pitcher, deems, clocked pitching a ball at ninety miles per hour, and threw all that away to push dope. sportcoat, the old lush, believes he can turn the kid around and steer him toward the majors. dream on, old man. how do aging italian-americans fit into all of this? the setting is one of new york city’s boroughs. new york, one of the northern destinations of the southern migration of blacks and while blacks were traveling north, italians and other european ethnic groups were coming across the ocean to share space, often segregating in communities of their own. and yet blacks and italians always managed, for better or worse, to find themselves in close proximity. blacks with their churches, italians with masonry skills. of course, some italians are known to be gangsters. mcbride brings all these fragments together with small mysteries, generational strife, loss, and quiet dreams longing toward something material and valuable. a touchingly funny, yet sobering book. ## Images ![Deacon King Kong: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81TwNGbfuDL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A literature treasure *by B***Y on March 3, 2025* It's one of these rare books that you don't want to ever end. The story is written by a real talent. It is funny, witty, engaging, and inspiring. You can't avoid falling in love with these simple, good-hearted, inspiring characters who struggle to live their very basic and deprived lives, and yet they are full of belief and optimism and, surprisingly, can convey their good spirits to the reader. The storyline is full and rich. As the story unveils, missing parts fall into their place, and the story achieves its completeness. The spoken language fantastically follows the actual slang yet is charming and easy to follow. This was a most pleasing reading, and I'm sure I'll read more books by the author. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ truth in stereotypes *by C***R on September 20, 2025* how does a black writer dare to write a novel, situating in a housing project alcoholic old men, young men slinging dope, church folk and their saturday night shortcomings, formations of ants so bad, as the saying goes, they will pull switchblades on rats and take away their cheese? and, in case, the black humor is too subtle, there is cheese in this story, lots of cheese. by embracing the stereotypes and following their stories. the deacon, sportcoat as he’s known throughout the projects, doesn’t drink any more since hettie, his wife, died, not that he drinks any less, an alcoholic who favors a rotgut by the name king kong. hettie may be dead, but no reason for sportcoat not to have conversations with her. sportcoat used to coach a youth baseball team in the projects. things fell apart when dope moved into the neighborhood, claiming sportcoat’s star pitcher, deems, clocked pitching a ball at ninety miles per hour, and threw all that away to push dope. sportcoat, the old lush, believes he can turn the kid around and steer him toward the majors. dream on, old man. how do aging italian-americans fit into all of this? the setting is one of new york city’s boroughs. new york, one of the northern destinations of the southern migration of blacks and while blacks were traveling north, italians and other european ethnic groups were coming across the ocean to share space, often segregating in communities of their own. and yet blacks and italians always managed, for better or worse, to find themselves in close proximity. blacks with their churches, italians with masonry skills. of course, some italians are known to be gangsters. mcbride brings all these fragments together with small mysteries, generational strife, loss, and quiet dreams longing toward something material and valuable. a touchingly funny, yet sobering book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Humanity of Criminality in Brooklyn projects with rich descriptions and plot lines *by K***Y on January 21, 2021* McBride expertly drops the reader into the projects in Brooklyn in 1969. His level of descriptive writing ability is rare and impressive. McBride plays on several themes as he weaves multiple story lines into a fully connected, cohesive plot. This is a technique that I personally enjoy seeing play out and I was overall pleased with the journey. The primary themes in this story are friendship, family, humanity in criminality, mentorship, loss, poverty and home. The story immediately opens with action when a church deacon shoots a drug dealer. This is the primary plot line around which all other plots play out, until most are connected and resolved by the end of the novel. There are three main character groupings which are criminals, church attendees and police officers. The story illustrates the interesting complexities of relationships between these groups. For example, the drug dealer that the church deacon shoots is a 19-year-old young man that the deacon has known since the drug dealer was a small boy, and the deacon used to coach him in baseball and teach him at Sunday school. There are multiple characters to keep track of in the novel and many of the characters have at least two names, one nickname and their actual name which is more rarely used. At points I wished I was reading an e-book, so I could highlight a character name and see where it had first appeared in the novel so I could recall the character’s relationship to others and origin. McBride effectively crafts dialogue that sounds like it authentically portrays each group which helps to get the reader into the story. The dialogue is at times so funny that I laughed out loud. The characters live in a dangerous place but despite the fact the plot was life-threateningly serious, McBride paints characters that seem accustomed and desensitized to the constant danger, and they still have moments of joy, celebration, and happiness despite it. The “Cause Houses” as a setting is practically another main character in the story. Most of the characters live in the Cause Houses and some are responsible for the care taking of it. If you are a reader who enjoys a strong sense of place, and you want to learn what it is like to live in a housing project, then you will appreciate this aspect. If you are considering reading this book, be aware that McBride subjects the reader to periodic seemingly pointless rants on what appear to be disconnected topics such as lengthy descriptions of ants and cheese. I will admit I started to feel frustrated during these points, and wished McBride wasn’t quite so descriptive, as I was left grasping to connect these random descriptions to the plot line. However, if you continue to follow the through line, McBride will lead you to the connection eventually. (I still wish I hadn’t read the ant portion, however, as it painted images in my mind I’d rather forget.) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.is/products/198863862-deacon-king-kong-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.is/products/198863862-deacon-king-kong-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Iceland* *Store origin: IS* *Last updated: 2026-05-02*