Come check out the Pike and chat about the latest great books.

Newcomers are always welcome! This bookclub meets in person on the third Wednesday of each month.

This month's book selection: "Deacon King Kong" by McBride, James

We are reading:

Registration Required.  

For more information, please call 703-228-5710.

For our current policies on masking please see our Library Operations Update

Date:
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Time:
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location:
Drew Room
Library:
Columbia Pike Library
Audience:
Events for Adults Good for Adults Age 55+
Categories:
Book Club
Calendar:
Arlington Public Library
Registration has closed.

About the Book: 

"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 .45 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. --From Amazon.com"

About Our Events

Accommodations in the Library

Arlington County provides accommodations to individuals with disabilities upon request. Please contact ​us at least five (5) business days in advance.

  • Phone: 703-228-5993
  • Email: Jberg@arlingtonva.us