From James McBride, author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, comes a wise and witty novel about what happens to the witnesses of a shooting.
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range.
The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride's funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.
As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters--caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York--overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.
Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.
0 有用 Le Flaneur 2021-08-09 22:54:38
一个街区里黑人、意大利人、爱尔兰人的爱恨纠葛,结尾有一点cheesy,但确实是个很可爱的故事
2 有用 小宗 2020-04-12 10:53:13
故事以上世纪60年代末的纽约为背景,讲述了居住在布鲁克林安置房区的一些社会底层非白人的故事。牵涉到宗教、帮派、走私、社区生活等元素。对这个背景还是很感兴趣的,但是作者却把大量的笔墨花在了几个底层角色的内心描写以及毫无营养的对话上,没能更多的反映出时代特色。作者文笔不错,可惜叙述节奏过于缓慢,缺乏推动读者情绪的主线。另外段落过长,两三页一段,看的昏昏欲睡。结局的强行温情路线让人感觉浪费了不少时间在这... 故事以上世纪60年代末的纽约为背景,讲述了居住在布鲁克林安置房区的一些社会底层非白人的故事。牵涉到宗教、帮派、走私、社区生活等元素。对这个背景还是很感兴趣的,但是作者却把大量的笔墨花在了几个底层角色的内心描写以及毫无营养的对话上,没能更多的反映出时代特色。作者文笔不错,可惜叙述节奏过于缓慢,缺乏推动读者情绪的主线。另外段落过长,两三页一段,看的昏昏欲睡。结局的强行温情路线让人感觉浪费了不少时间在这本书上。 (展开)
1 有用 DSXLFJ 2024-05-02 10:57:52 美国
十分喜欢JM慢条斯理社会群像素描般的叙事风格,于是在读完《天地杂货铺后》立马开始了这本《金刚执事》。可能因为故事发生在纽约,背景年代也近一些所以感触颇多。大段对白会在脑中如电影画面呈现,温情幽默。故事结尾合家欢喜虽有些俗套但也在意料之中。
1 有用 sarahzhu3 2021-03-04 06:28:23
各色人物很鲜活 看到跟我们不一样的生活 和不一样的黑人特殊的语法。很享受这个过程 各条线索汇总起来水落石出……
0 有用 贫穷的白痴 2023-02-18 17:50:25 浙江
个人第8本英文原著,今年小目标再读6本吧