I started off a little skeptical, honestly. That's the day the old deacon, known as Sportcoat to his friends, marched out to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects in South Brooklyn, stuck an ancient .38 Colt in the face of a nineteen-year-old drug dealer named Deems Clemens, and pulled the trigger. He is approached by someone called The Governor, who knew his father, Guido, in prison. The Federal Government?) This Study Guide consists of approximately 67 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Deacon King Kong. Elephante — why would he stop? 1. Deacon Cuffy Lambkin of Five Ends Baptist Church became a walking dead man on a cloudy September afternoon in 1969. “Deacon King Kong” is a nickname on top of a nickname: everyone in the Cause Houses knows the title character as Sportcoat. I would have preferred to watch it in the theater, but I guess I’m getting an HBO subscription. Print Word PDF. Sportcoat knew that he would drink again, so he decides to go to the harbor instead where Hettie killed herself and walk into the water. In September 1969 in South Brooklyn, 71-year-old Deacon Cuffy Jasper Lambkin, also known as "Sportcoat", drunkenly goes to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects and shoots Deems Clemens, a 19-year-old local drug dealer. No one in James McBride’s new novel, “Deacon King Kong,” knows where the cheese comes from — not even Hot Sausage, who’s entrusted with distributing the cheese among the residents. This answer isn’t answered explicitly in the book. (The Detailed Plot Summary is also available, below). The other half is due when the rest of the job is completed, but she betrays him instead and leads Peck to him. That same night, Guido asked a passerby, Sister Paul, for help in driving away some stolen cargo. SHOP NOW. Sixteen people saw the shooting, but no one talks. He still has imaginary conversations with her (often regarding some missing church funds that she took). No one in James McBride’s new novel, “Deacon King Kong,” knows where the cheese comes from — not even Hot Sausage, who’s entrusted with distributing the cheese among the residents. As their former baseball coach, he helped to raise the boys around him to become men, only to watch them become drug dealers, lured in by the false promises of rich, corrupt people that live far from the projects. This section contains 1,199 words. At the very beginning, Sportcoat asks if it was something like 14 dollars or if it was in the hundreds. . In Deacon King Kong, this forgotten and disregarded community comes alive and is filled with warmth and personality. As he does, he tells Sausage the water is beautiful and drowns himself. As Sister Paul eventually reveals, the initial source of the cheese was brought on by her adhering to her own Christian values: kindness and generosity to strangers, or specifically the Elephant's father. Deems falls in the water and nearly drowns, but Sportcoat saves him. That’s the day the old deacon, known as Sportcoat to his friends, marched out to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects in South Brooklyn, stuck an ancient .38 Colt in the face of a nineteen‑year‑old drug dealer named Deems Clemens, and pulled the trigger. Sportcoat relays this story to Elephante, and Elephante gets engaged to the Governor's daughter. On its surface, Deacon King Kong is about the tension between wayward souls and those on the straight and narrow. Chapter 1: Jesus’s Cheese. By the time the story really starts to come together and a lot of the small details from the beginning gain new relevance, I knew I was going to be trying to convince people to read this book. Of course, having read it, I’m really glad I did and I hope others give it a shot, too. Time passes. $28. Deacon King Kong. This Study Guide consists of approximately 67 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - This book is more on the literary side of what is typically considered a “book club read”, but I think this one would be a fantastic pick if you or your crew is up for something that falls firmly in the “literary fiction” category. This novel is fun, full of characters, well written and thoughtful, with twists and turns and a moral to boot. 1 Jesus's Cheese. It’s also not clear how much was in there. Artist - Squanky KongSong Name - "Government Cheese"Album - "Under A Raven's Review" It’s going to be on HBO Max. Sportcoat — with what money? Deacon Cuffy Lambkin of Five Ends Baptist Church became a walking dead man on a cloudy September afternoon in 1969. No one knows why he shot him. Izi Cordero claims her ex-husband, Joaquin, was involved somehow, though many know she is only saying this to get him into trouble... (read more from the Jesus's Cheese - A Dead Man Summary). She said to Oprah Magazine in selecting the book, “I am hoping readers will find in it what I did: sorrow, joy, resilience, humanity, and an understanding that while we struggle with pain and trauma, we can find shelter in one another.”. James McBride’s new book, “Deacon King Kong,” creates a memorable tale of Black life in America, filled with hurt and frustration but also a perpetual undercurrent of hope. “Deacon King Kong” is many things: a mystery novel, a crime novel, an urban farce, a portrait of a project community. Set in 1969 Brooklyn, the story starts off with a literal bang when an elderly church deacon, known as ‘Sportcoat’, shoots Deems Clemens, a drug dealer, in front of the Cause houses housing project, with no shortage of witnesses. Deacon King Kong - Jesus's Cheese - A Dead Man Summary & Analysis. Jesus's Cheese. Book Oprah’s book club picks tend to be the opposite of that, so I suspected my initial assumptions about it might be wrong. Deacon King Kong is fast, deep, complex, and hilarious. Hettie, Deacon King Kong. But on a deeper level, James McBride’s first … In September 1969 in South Brooklyn, 71-year-old Deacon Cuffy Jasper Lambkin, also known as “Sportcoat“, goes to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects (“the Cause”) and shoots Deems Clemens, a ruthless drug dealer, in the face. I hope that people give this book a shot. Stylistically, the story is told in kind of a frenetic and almost playful kind of way. :D. Follow along on Goodreads, or keep in touch via the newsletter. I think this is left open-ended. 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. Sportcoat is the deacon of the community church, Five Ends Baptist, and a good man. Sergeant Potts, an older officer, and his young partner, Officer Mitch, are sent to investigate and arrest Sportcoat. Deacon King Kong. See the archives. He also asked them to hide the Venus of Willendorf statue for him, something only Sister Paul (and now Sportcoat) knew about. James McBride’s Deacon King Kong is the story of a Brooklyn deacon who, one September day in 1969, shoots the Cause Houses’ local drug dealer. It’s a worthwhile book that is well-deserving of the time required to read it. In September 1969, 71-year-old Deacon Cuffy Jasper Lambkin of the Five Ends Baptist Church, known as Sportcoat, shoots a 19-year-old drug dealer named Deems Clemens at the Causeway Housing Projects. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Deacon King Kong: CHOSEN BY BARACK OBAMA AS A FAVOURITE READ. 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. James McBride is the National Award-winning author of … Peck and his men kill Bunch. Deacon King Kong by James McBride is a 2020 Random House publication. In the backdrop of Sportcoat’s personal struggles and hijinks, there’s also a drug war brewing in the projects. This book has it all: murder, mystery, history, romance, and large amounts of holy cheese. Bunch sends Earl, his right-hand-man, to rough up Sportcoat (to send a warning about disrupting his business), but Earl's attempts are comedically thwarted each time. The main character is a bit of a mess, and his discombobulated state makes for a number of humorous interludes, with an almost silly, slapstick atmosphere running throughout the novel. Afterwards, Haroldeen (who works for but has been misused by Bunch) meets up with Bunch and gets half her money. I typically associate books (and media in general) about drug dealers, drunks, shootings and/or gangsters with being full of machismo, in a way that I don’t have a ton of patience for. Deacon King Kong Questions & Answers. Deacon King Kong. The last King Kong movie that came out a few years back was probably my favorite monster movie. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. They find the statute, and Elephante does his deal. This answer isn’t answered explicitly in the book. We know that Hettie was the treasurer for Five Ends Baptist and the box went missing after she died. 1 JESUS’S CHEESE. Deacon Cuffy Lambkin of Five Ends Baptist Church became a walking dead man on a cloudy September afternoon in 1969. She tells him how Five Ends got started. Author James McBride's new book is Deacon King Kong. However, Haroldeen makes her move, shooting Deems, Sausage (Sportcoat's best friend) and Beanie (Deems's right hand man). That's the day the old deacon, known as Sportcoat to his friends, marched out to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects in South Brooklyn, stuck an ancient .38 Colt in the face of a nineteen-year-old drug dealer named Deems Clemens, and pulled the trigger. Have you read this, or is this a book you’d consider? On its surface, Deacon King Kong is about the tension between wayward souls and those on the straight and narrow. They discuss it, which allows McBride to introduce us to some residents: Veronica Gee, the wife of the minister at Five Ends says that Sportcoat had rheumatic fever. Deacon King Kong Chapters 1-4 Summary & Analysis Chapter 1 Summary: “Jesus’s Cheese” Sportcoat is introduced via a brief account of his attempt to kill a neighborhood drug dealer named Deems Clemens . Sportcoat’s fondness for the moonshine cooked up by the janitor in a nearby project, a concoction known as King Kong, has addled his memory, giving the alcoholic deacon … If you check it out and you’re on the fence, I’d encourage you to give it a shot.) (Coincidentally, Sportcoat works as a gardener for Elephante's mother one day a week.) That's the day the old deacon, known as Sportcoat to his friends, marched out to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects in South Brooklyn, stuck an ancient .38 Colt in the face of a nineteen-year-old drug dealer named Deems Clemens, and pulled the trigger. Elsewhere in the Causeway, Tommy Elephante (the "Elephant") is a guy who deals in storing and moving contraband, though he refuses to mess with drugs. Chapter 1: Jesus’s Cheese. After the pier shooting, Sportcoat realizes he wants to get sober. What do you think? That’s the day the old deacon, known as Sportcoat to his friends, marched out to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects in South Brooklyn, stuck an ancient .38 Colt in the face of a nineteen‑year‑old drug dealer named Deems Clemens, and … He was also once the coach for the Causeway baseball team, and Deems was once its star player. A few more chapters in though, the basic plot becomes clearer, and I felt more acclimated with McBride’s energetic writing style. I think this is a question that’s purposely left somewhat open-ended and open for debate. Everyone assumes Sportcoat is a dead man after the shooting, but Deems doesn't retaliate against Sportcoat because of their history. Deacon King Kong by James McBride is not the type of book I ordinarily would have chosen for myself. Bunch's supplier is Joe Peck, an Italian mobster, but Bunch has a plan to cut Peck out. There’s no shame in needing a little clarification!). The mysterious cheese that arrives in Hot Sausage's basement is a symbol of the idea of the rewards of faith. ― James McBride, Deacon King Kong. I understand it’s not coming to theaters though. (And if you do find yourself getting a little lost, you can check out my synopsis / chapter-by-charter summary! However, the book’s humor and gamesome narration masks a very real story tackling a range of not-so-playful topics. I think I just cracked a rib laughing so hard! James McBride bookshop.org. When Deacon King Kong starts, everything feels a little chaotic, and there’s tons of small pieces of information flying by. In September 1969 in South Brooklyn, 71-year-old Deacon Cuffy Jasper Lambkin, also known as “Sportcoat“, goes to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects (“the Cause”) and shoots Deems Clemens, a ruthless drug dealer, in the face.. Sportcoat was a peaceful and beloved man, the coach of the projects basketball team for 14 … Your email address will not be published. This also isn’t answered explicitly in the book. Jesus's Cheese. Deacon King Kong is set in their hometown, but this is not the current high-rent hipster Brooklyn. DEACON CUFFY LAMBKIN OF FIVE ENDS BAPTIST CHURCH became a walking dead man on a cloudy September afternoon in 1969. James McBride on 'Deacon King Kong' : It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders James McBride is the National Award-winning author of The Good Lord … The witnesses wonder why part-time deacon, full-time alcoholic, and … Potts's investigation is also hindered by everyone's vague answers about Sportcoat's whereabouts, so Sportcoat remains a free man. Later, Guido repaid that favor by helping them secure the land for the church. don’t make sense for various reasons. The novel is, in other words, a lot . We know that Guido originally gave them the cheese, but that it continued to be delivered after he died. Multiple parties are vying for supremacy and to cut others out of the trade. Book review and synopsis for Deacon King Kong by James McBride, A lively and compassionate story about a shooting in the projects of South Brooklyn. McBride's prose is shimmering and moving, a living thing that has its own rhythm, pulls you in from the first page and never lets go. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. That’s the day the old deacon, known as Sportcoat to his friends, marched out to the plaza of the Causeway Housing Projects in South Brooklyn, stuck an ancient .38 Colt in the face of a nineteen‑year‑old drug dealer named Deems Clemens, and pulled the trigger. There’s even some western in here. Bold, Brilliant and Captivating! Who was supplying the cheese? Sportcoat is also the baseball coach of the boys’ team at the projects. DEACON CUFFY LAMBKIN OF FIVE ENDS BAPTIST CHURCH became a walking dead man on a cloudy September afternoon in 1969. I should warn you it’s not the easiest read initially, as the story feels a bit chaotic at the onset, but once you get a handle on his writing style and basic plot, it’s really not a difficult read. “Deacon King Kong” is a mystery and a cultural romp through 1969 New York City, covering racial equity, mobsters, religion, love and change. I really enjoyed this. Deacon King Kong Chapters 1-4 Summary & Analysis Chapter 1 Summary: “Jesus’s Cheese” Sportcoat is introduced via a brief account of his attempt to kill a neighborhood drug dealer named Deems Clemens . 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