PositiveThe Harvard CrimsonMcBride builds a hilariously improbable story of grace and redemption. In the face of alarming structural and personal trauma, Deacon King Kong is undeniably human and life-affirming ... Does Deacon King Kong feel original? Not especially. Some of the character archetypes have been done to the point of staleness. That said, McBride’s characters transcend their tropes because he humanizes them so well ... The actions would seem contrived and unearned without McBride’s emotional backdrop. In one sense, the reader needs this context to root for a character like Elefante; in another, the reader is unwilling to rationalize his decisions without it. Elefante’s message to a cop encapsulates McBride’s mission statement: \'A lot of saints don’t start out well, but they end that way\' ... succeeds in more than just grounding unseemly characters. The universe around these characters is exceptionally thought-out and feels alive ... By focusing on intensely vulnerable characters, McBride shines a light in the darkness ... These heavy-handed themes may inform the novel, but McBride’s writing reads like a farce ... All of these elements make Deacon King Kong a relentlessly compelling read. The plot’s lightheartedness and the deeply serious subtext paint a complicated yet optimistic picture. While McBride casts overdone characters on this journey, Deacon King Kong’s righteousness bleeds through the page enough to make a cynic smile.
