In places of poverty and where the only real ways to get ahead are on the wrong side of the law, you have to be able to find the bright spots or you’ll be drowned in the dark places.

I think those questions ended up being indicative of the skill in James McBride’s writing. I didn’t know how I was supposed to react: should I be on the edge of my seat or should I be cackling at the hijinks of the Cause Houses’ residents? Was Sportcoat’s utter confusion at the crime he was being told he committed funny or sad? The seriousness of the catalyst and crime, Sportcoat shooting a 19-year-old drug dealer in broad daylight, was played against the absurdity of the life he’s leading.

I had no idea where it was headed, even as pieces began to overlap and fall together. I mean, I knew what was happening, but I didn’t understand what James McBride was trying to say. Honestly I was over halfway through Deacon King Kong wondering what it was even about. The characters are charming, fleshed-out and full of life, but initially it was hard to connect with what they were doing. It’s not particularly long or dense, but was just difficult to get back into once I put it down. This took a lot longer for me to finish than I was anticipating. He has been featured on national radio and television programs in America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. His “Riffin’ and Pontificatin’ ” Tour, a nationwide tour of high schools and colleges promoting reading through jazz, was captured in a 2003 Comcast documentary. He is the recipient of several awards for his work as a composer in musical theater including the Stephen Sondheim Award and the Richard Rodgers Foundation Horizon Award. He served as a tenor saxophone sideman for jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott.

His April, 2007 National Geographic story entitled “Hip Hop Planet” is considered a respected treatise on African American music and culture.Īs a musician, he has written songs (music and lyrics) for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., and Gary Burton, among others. His work has also appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. James McBride is a former staff writer for The Washington Post, People Magazine, and The Boston Globe. He holds several honorary doctorates and is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. He studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received his Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York at age 22. James McBride is a native New Yorker and a graduate of New York City public schools.

Deacon King Kong by James McBride