Set in 1969, the book begins in dramatic fashion with the shooting of a young drug dealer by the elderly man who used to teach him to play baseball. Known as Sportcoat, though he commits a crime in front of many witnesses, people seem to look after their own and nobody says anything. The dealer, Deems, survives but it marks the onset of a curious turn of events.
While the opening was immediately captivating, it took me a while to settle into the rhythm of the book. I found myself wondering exactly what I was reading as we’re introduced to a colourful cast of characters that I found it hard to warm to.
At times I found myself laughing at the darkly comic way in which McBride writes about their tribulations, then I wondered if this was insensitive. Was I missing something? I’m still not sure.
As we follow the events that ripple out from the shooting of Deems it was clear that we were being given the opportunity to see a community in transition. The growing issue of drug abuse and the threat it poses to the previously manageable way of life was interesting. The stories interlinking the characters felt a little contrived on occasion, but believable in this context.
Deacon King Kong is not a book that I would necessarily have chosen to read if it weren’t for the 2022 Pop Sugar Challenge. It is certainly a book I would read again, and an author I would be keen to try more of.