Barbara Kingsolver

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

A Novel

Demon Copperhead

sina (she/her) 

"People want somebody o to kick around, I get that. But why is it us? Why couldn't it be, I don't know, a Dakota or something? Why not Florida?" "Just bad luck, I reckon. God made us the butt of the joke universe." 

This is what I would say if I could, to all smart people of the world with their dumb hillbilly jokes: We are right here in the stall. We can actually hear you.

But any time I started feeling sorry for her, something in my brain said Don't go there, it's a trap. I'd tried all the options with Mom and had only one place left to go on her. Cold.

At the time, I thought my life couldn't get any worse. Here's some advice: Don't ever think that.

Advice to anybody with the plan of naming your kid Junior: going through life as mini-you will be as thrilling as finding dried-up jizz on the carpet.

Probably everybody has had some golden patch of life like that, where everything was going to be okay thanks to the people that had your back, and sadly you wasted it, by being ticked off over some ignorant thing like a busted TV.

jocelyn

As it was, I might die of loneliness. How could I be here with all these familiar things but not the people that looked me in the eye and called me brother, or God love ya, or You're that one, or Honey I remember you from the feed store. To be here was to be known. If Lee County isn't that, it's nothing.

They wanted payback. I thought about what Rose said, wanting to see the rest of us hurt, because she was hurting. You have to wonder how much of the whole world's turning is fueled by that very fire.

Laura Dobie

Actual fact: you could make an entire second world out of what people throw away.

Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise. In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster care. For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he's willing to travel to try and get there. Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between.

tiff

I got up every day thinking the sun was out there shining, and it could just as well shine on me as any other human person.

i am a child i fearrr (constantly yaps and rants ab my problems on twitter)

The idea of people wanting at all times to hear your problems, that's a child thing.

MY DAMON HE DOESNT DESERVE ALL THIS 😭😭

"Being dead is better than an orphan your whole fucking life."

"It's not your fault. You can't really help what's in your brain."

Was this me now, for life? Taking up space where people wished I wasnt? Once on a time I was something, and then I turned, like sour milk.

The first to fall in any war are forgotten. No love gets lost over one person's reckless mistake. Only after it's a mountain of bodies bagged we think to raise a flag and call the mistake by a different name, because one downfall times a thousand has got to mean something. It needs its own brand, some point to all the sacrifice.

If I wanted to visit my parents, I would have to make little fake graves to leave behind me on my road to nowhere.

It hit me pretty hard, how there’s no kind of sad in this world that will stop it turning. People will keep on wanting what they want, and you’re on your own.

At the start of the service they did that song about Amazing God, and I felt exactly the opposite: I once could see but now I'm blind, was found but now I'm lost.

I told her nobody ever asked me that question before, about growing up and what I wanted to be, so I didn't know. Mainly, still alive.

my heart hurts sm for him DAMON GET BEHIND ME I WILL SAVE U

He asked if I had ever been so sad I wished I could go to sleep and not wake up. I said not really, I just usually went to sleep wishing I’d wake up in a different house. He said that was understandable.

If you’ve noticed, it’s the prettiest people that everybody wants to believe, and next after that, the most wrecked.

The eye sees what it cares enough to see.

When your parent clocks out before you clock in, you can spend way too much of your life staring into that black hole.

Alyssa C Smith

Show me your paycheck, I'll make a guess which floor. If you are making a rich person happy, or a regular person feel rich, aka better than other people, the money rolls. If it's lowlifes you're looking after, not so much. And if it's kids, good luck, because anything to do with improving the life of a child is on the bottom.

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

Mark Phillips

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.

Barbara Williford

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. 

BC Hark

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

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.

Finn James

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

Jess Rez

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. 

Ani Velasquez

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? 

Kaitlyn Wendler

Gordon McArthur

Marsh

elizabeth

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.

Liza Scheidler 

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

Madi

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

Jennifer Palmer

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. 

Lexie 

Lindsey Arenson

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.

Jacqui Spears

'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.

Cheri McElroy

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.

Frederik De Bosschere

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 

Jacque

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 

Brett Seybert

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. 

Andrew John Kinney

This book was a nostalgic experience for me, since I lived in the Tri-Cities area (Bristol-Johnson City-Kingsport) in 1989-92. I have regularly returned to the mountains that straddle the NC-TN line for hiking or just for relief from coastal weather extremes in summer, and that area is only 20 miles as the crow flies from Johnson City. But I have not spent any time in the Tri-City area since 1992. As a result of my long absence, I was not a witness to the disastrous effects of the opioid and meth plague that swept through that area in the '90's and later, though I heard about it from friends who still had contacts in the area. It makes me sad and angry to hear about what happened, because the people of Washington and Unicoi Counties, in Tennessee, were among the best people I ever lived amongst. I was an outsider, of course, but I worked at a Texas Instruments facility with them, and I came to appreciate their calm, hard-working approach to their jobs. I often tell people how good a place that was to work, and I can cite statistics: the Johnson City manufacturing facility had the highest quality in the division, the lowest accident rate, the lowest absence rate, and the best on-time delivery. There was no yelling, no pounding of tables; everyone just did their job. Also, that facility had the highest percentage of female employees in the company (74%), and that may have contributed to the steady work ethic and calm work environment I encountered there.

In any event, for me there was a surge of recognition of the characters in Barbara Kingsolver's tale. I knew men and women like the ones she describes. Although there is a lot of misery in this story, the characters of Demon and June and Tommy and Angus ring true. Kingsolver's love for the region is so strong, for the natural beauty as much as for the people, that her writing is often inspired, and she certainly has a unique ability to render a funny turn of phrase in the mountain dialect. How she portrays her key characters, quick-witted, finding the humor in things, is how I remember so many of the people I worked with there. They were generous, and they were grateful for the jobs they had at Texas Instruments, because there were good benefits, and one worked indoors during the winter - not a small consideration. Now most of the good jobs in that area are gone, replaced by either fast food opportunities or healthcare jobs. That is the diminished world that Kingsolver depicts.

My only (minor) complaint is that she spent about 80 pages too many describing Demon's and Dori's descent into addiction - I got it after the first 40 pages. But the book's ending redeemed any quibbles I had with the extended misery porn, and I think this is one of Kingsolver's best works. Her rage at Purdue's greed and their society-wrecking, aggressive pushing of opioids in Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and Northeast Tennessee is completely warranted, especially given what I knew of the area pre-opioids. Johnson City, for example, had the 22nd lowest crime rate in the United States for communities of similar size in 1989. One could truly leave the front door unlocked back then. A technician who worked for me asked me, when I started at the facility, whether I had any family in Johnson City or Unicoi County, and I said no. He said, smiling, "Good, then you will never be a victim of a violent crime". And it was literally true that essentially all altercations were domestic disputes, and even those were not common.

I highly recommend this book, and thanks to Jenna for pointing me toward it.

Absoloutely remarkable, a modern retelling of Dickens "David Copperfield" Demon Copperhead was such a brilliant undertaking that no words of mine can do it justice.

Following a 10 year old dubbed "Demon"" (actual name Damon) as he makes his way in a world in the appalachian mountains that is frought with the cycle and epidemic of addiction and poverty. 

If you are after a fast paced quick read that is action packed then this is NOT for you, Demon Copperhead is filled with intense writing and is very character focused, over 500 pages this novel cycles and follows the main character from a child to a man and does not skip a beat. 

Dark, Intense and deeply saddening at times, Kingsolver has managed to capture a glance into a harrowing marginalized world with such prescence and poise.

jaz ☁️

Absoloutely remarkable, a modern retelling of Dickens "David Copperfield" Demon Copperhead was such a brilliant undertaking that no words of mine can do it justice.

Following a 10 year old dubbed "Demon"" (actual name Damon) as he makes his way in a world in the appalachian mountains that is frought with the cycle and epidemic of addiction and poverty. 

If you are after a fast paced quick read that is action packed then this is NOT for you, Demon Copperhead is filled with intense writing and is very character focused, over 500 pages this novel cycles and follows the main character from a child to a man and does not skip a beat. 

Dark, Intense and deeply saddening at times, Kingsolver has managed to capture a glance into a harrowing marginalized world with such prescence and poise.

With a beautiful, authentic voice a compelling coming of age story unfurls in an oft forgotten setting (Appalachia). Heartfelt and sappy, gritty, in the best way. 

Demon Copperhead A Novel

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