Demon Copperhead A Novel

Poor Demon, really great story and wonderful characters. Incredible modern day Dickens retelling.

Took the encouragement of a friend to get me through a slump in the middle, and I’m glad I did eventually finish this.

A stunning novel that is so alive you can almost hear a heartbeat coming from it. Demon’s voice is so real and poignant. He is a charming and tragic narrator who you want to succeed no matter what well he falls down. The supporting cast is vivid and unforgettable. Not a single two dimensional character in there.

Loved it! Classic, wonderful, character based storytelling. A fantastic rendering of David Copperfield.

This was a book club read and one I would not have personally chosen but it was well written and heart wrenching in regards to the reality of the situation. There are a lot of trigger warnings and some crude language but is does pertain to the setting and situation. (It did get a little unnecessarily so as the book progressed which is why it got a three star rating).

A modern twist on Dicken’s “David Copperfield”that will have your heart wrenching. Demon Copperhead was born in a poor community in Southern Appalachia to a single teenage mom struggling with her demons, addiction and raising her son. Demon has his typical struggles of growing up in poor Appalachia but it all comes to a head when he finds himself an orphan. He then has the added struggles of being thrown into the system and his own demons to fight. From hardships to success and then hitting rock bottom and fighting to survive. Very well written.

Trigger warnings: child abuse and neglect, substance abuse, addiction and overdose, suicide, sexual assault. Graphic, crude and vulgar language.

Not my favorite book of the year I don't think, but a strong narrator with a compelling story. I think it dropped off a bit toward the end for me, so it was a bit of a slog to make it through, but the story was pretty good. I could hear the narrator speaking in my head and make more stories from that, kind of funny.

A similar strong lead like A Gentleman in Moscow. I might've just made both of these stories a little shorter toward the end.

the beginning takes a bit to really get you interested; you're basically thrown in for a ride through demon's life and you have no real reason to follow it, so it takes time to know the guy, know his voice, and to find reasons to care about his journey through life. that said, i thought it ended up being a solid page turner, and didn't really get burnt out despite how lengthy the read was.

i thoroughly enjoyed the language and found myself highlighting a lot of things. demon's "voice" may come off as too mature for some parts because he's... supposed to be young...but i wasn't too bothered. ultimately pretty pleased bc i didn't think i'd enjoy this book as much as i did

Favorite book and longest I’ve ever read. Very gripping. Had a twist on the 3rd to last paragraph I didn’t see coming until a few pages from the end. Only gripe was maybe the voice felt too mature and self aware given how young he is at the start and the context of his life. Also I don’t feel like I have any context of the accuracy because I know nothing about Appalachia, but I feel like this was an incredible depiction of it.

Compelling, surprising, inevitable. I’m going to buy a physical copy so I can have it.

Where can I start?

Well, first, this reading felt like it was never going to end for me. A lot of pages but felt like the story in general could’ve been told in less than that. I am still not fully sure what was the drive of it.

On the good side, I loved the writing. We see Demon telling us the story since he was a kid and you can see that the words and storytelling are those of someone that age, and you are able to see the growth and how he matures with the passing of every page.

Had such high hopes for this book given the reviews, but just couldn’t get into it. Then it dragged on and ultimately ended very predictably. I haven’t read ‘David Copperfield’ which this is meant to be a modern take on. Maybe if I had I would get the hype?

So damn good. A really special book.

best book i've ever read i think

As a certified Dickens Hater, I was skeptical, but despite how much this mimics its source (or inspiration?) material, I really liked it. And the beginning was slow going, in part because of my skepticism and in part due to my impatience. I kept wondering if the book was going to get a “real” plot or if it would just be a long slog through somebody’s life. And to be honest, it IS kind of a long slog through somebody’s life. But as the chapters went on, I forgot about what I thought I wanted this book to be and started caring about our protagonist. I didn’t mind the slog. Tracing the course of Damon’s life, living in his mind, getting to know his voice, settling in to his environment…it’s no treat, no walk in the park, but it’s a blessing. A less real, less lovable character would render it nothing more than trauma porn. Kingsolver navigates Appalachia’s landscapes (socioeconomic, historic, etc.) with nuance but conviction about its heroes and villains. Although certain characters (like Mr. Armstrong or Damon’s aunt) are kind of mouthpieces to provide context, things never feel preachy. At its core, and its ending, the novel is sentimental and optimistic (borderline delusional, but I’m not sure if I mind). The ending FEELS remarkably happy in the context of our protagonist’s life, yet is actually pretty modest in the context of modern American aspirations. But the Bildungsroman was never about winning the system (or beating the system, which is the same but different), but finding one’s place within it.

devastating and beautiful

It was enjoyable but I don’t think it accomplished what it set out to do. Ending kind of made me want to barf

Depressing book…. Well written, but damn… depressing.

I haven’t read David Copperfield so I can’t speak to this as an adaptation. But on its own it is gorgeous. Every chapter broke my heart and then somehow mended it again. Books this length often become tedious to me, but every page had its purpose.

It’s truly incredible that Barbara Kingsolver is able to inhabit the voice of a teenaged country boy. Idk how she does it, but it’s amazing. My only critique is that the book ended too soon.

Heavy, and at times hard to read, but an honest story that was strongly rooted in place and time. The story of Demon was fictional and yet it was based on the historical facts of Appalachia - a uniquely beautiful place that was crippled by the mining industry and pharmaceuticals. I was aware that Kingsolver herself lives in the region where this book took place, so I trusted her depiction of life there and the cruel way in which outsiders perceive the people born there to be. Overall a great read.

'm late to the party, but this book is 100 percent worth the hype. I did a combination of audiobook and physical copy, which were superb. Only Kingsolver could take a complicated social issue (like opioid addiction) and show it to us through the eyes of a child so brilliantly. Well, Kingsolver and Dickens.

I had read about the opioid crisis and the fate of people in Southern States, but the story of Demon Copperhead really drove that bleakness home. It is also beautifully written.

I literally cannot tout this book enough. Beautifully heartwarming and heartbreaking. An incredible coming of age mixed with an honesty of the beginning of the opioid crisis and, ultimately, a love song to Appalachia

Loved this book. So much hit so close to home (both figuratively and geographically) and it felt authentic in a way that I didn’t quite expect. I don’t know why, but I had not categorized Kingsolver as an “Appalachian” writer previously, despite knowing of her bonafides in terms of being from Kentucky, but this book is clearly written with a love and intimate knowledge for the region and its people. There’s more going on here, too. The social justice angle. The David Copperfield retelling. The language itself. All of it just got me thinking in all of the best ways, even if those ways are also painful.

For anyone who also loved this book who finds themselves interested in learning more about Appalachia or reading more Appalachian literature, Kingsolver put together a really nice reading list for The New York Times.