katie_archer's review
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
sonja_brigitte's review
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sarahelizab's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
julieartz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
megankholley's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved this. Having read and loved David Copperfield earlier this year the narrative was fresh in my memory and enhanced the reading of this novel for me, although I think it is unnecessary to have read the original to enjoy Barbara Kingsolver’s version. Although dark, there is always a thread of hope throughout Demon’s story that keeps it from going completely dark. It is was devastating to see David Copperfield through the lens of rural poverty and the opioid crisis, all too familiar hallmarks of a broken economy and healthcare system. Barbara Kingsolver has outdone herself.
annmariereads's review
5.0
This book is BRILLIANT. That's in all caps, from the first page to the very last sentence. Without a doubt, this is one of the best books I've read all year.
Demon starts us off from the very beginning - his dramatic birth in his teenage mom's trailer in Lee County, Virginia. Told from his perspective, he guides us through all the perils and heart of Appalachia. There are losses so deep it'll just about take your breath away, but there's Demon, as tough as anything, facing it head on with his trademark honesty and dark humor. We've got the opioid crisis, Friday night lights, economic disparity, foster care, rehab, mansions, gas station meth labs, Devil's Bathtub, and every down-home phrase you've ever heard your Southern mee-maw say.
Barbara Kingsolver, you are an incredible writer. Each one of your perfect little sentences come together to make this freaking TREASURE of a book. Comparing Dickens' David Copperfield's Victorian era to Appalachia is so spot on! We bow down.
Demon starts us off from the very beginning - his dramatic birth in his teenage mom's trailer in Lee County, Virginia. Told from his perspective, he guides us through all the perils and heart of Appalachia. There are losses so deep it'll just about take your breath away, but there's Demon, as tough as anything, facing it head on with his trademark honesty and dark humor. We've got the opioid crisis, Friday night lights, economic disparity, foster care, rehab, mansions, gas station meth labs, Devil's Bathtub, and every down-home phrase you've ever heard your Southern mee-maw say.
Barbara Kingsolver, you are an incredible writer. Each one of your perfect little sentences come together to make this freaking TREASURE of a book. Comparing Dickens' David Copperfield's Victorian era to Appalachia is so spot on! We bow down.
zena_ryder's review
5.0
The first chapter of David Copperfield is titled: "I Am Born."
The opening sentence of Demon Copperhead: “First, I got myself born."
Barbara Kingsolver had wanted to write a novel about the human individuals behind the statistics of the opioid crisis in Appalachia. She'd been thinking for some time about how to do that, and hadn't been satisfied with her ideas. And then she happened to stay in Bleak House, one of the places Charles Dickens had lived in Kent, UK. Dickens inspired her to tell her modern story based on the plot of his old one, David Copperfield.
I've read a handful of Dickens, but not that one. Now it's definitely the next classic I'll read.
In Kingsolver's novel, Demon (nicknames are common in this region, apparently) was born in the caul, and this is what he has to say about that:
“It was a Wednesday this all happened, which supposedly is the bad one. Full of woe etc. Add to that, coming out still inside the fetus ziplock. But. According to Mrs. Peggot there is one good piece of luck that comes with the baggie birth: it’s this promise from God that you’ll never drown. Specifically. You could still OD, or get pinned to the wheel and charbroiled in your driver’s seat, or for that matter blow your own brains out, but the one place where you will not suck your last breath is underwater. Thank you, Jesus.”
What a voice! I'm in awe of authors — like Kingsolver, Ruth Ozeki, Ann-Marie MacDonald — who express the voice of their fictional characters so well that it's hard to believe those characters aren't real people.
Here's Demon talking about reading novels: “Likewise the Charles Dickens one, seriously old guy, dead and a foreigner, but Christ Jesus did he get the picture on kids and orphans getting screwed over and nobody giving a rat’s ass. You’d think he was from around here.”
Along with the wonderful characters, the great story (Dickens knew a thing or two about plot), and the brilliant use of language, I also appreciated learning along the way. I learned about Melungeons, the origins of the term “redneck” (it’s badass, by the way), the whisky rebellion, Purdue Pharma, mining companies, dopesickness... But never does anything feel like a lecture. Kingsolver is too good a novelist for that.
I do hope you'll read this wonderful novel.
After I finished the book this morning, I went down the internet rabbit hole of learning a little more about Appalachia. I'll leave you with a few of the interesting things I found:
The 100-year capitalist experiment that keeps Appalachia poor, sick, and stuck on coal: https://tinyurl.com/v2axr7yj
Rising Appalachia music video: https://tinyurl.com/y3majtyx
Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Kickback Conspiracies: https://tinyurl.com/rhnfuykd
The opening sentence of Demon Copperhead: “First, I got myself born."
Barbara Kingsolver had wanted to write a novel about the human individuals behind the statistics of the opioid crisis in Appalachia. She'd been thinking for some time about how to do that, and hadn't been satisfied with her ideas. And then she happened to stay in Bleak House, one of the places Charles Dickens had lived in Kent, UK. Dickens inspired her to tell her modern story based on the plot of his old one, David Copperfield.
I've read a handful of Dickens, but not that one. Now it's definitely the next classic I'll read.
In Kingsolver's novel, Demon (nicknames are common in this region, apparently) was born in the caul, and this is what he has to say about that:
“It was a Wednesday this all happened, which supposedly is the bad one. Full of woe etc. Add to that, coming out still inside the fetus ziplock. But. According to Mrs. Peggot there is one good piece of luck that comes with the baggie birth: it’s this promise from God that you’ll never drown. Specifically. You could still OD, or get pinned to the wheel and charbroiled in your driver’s seat, or for that matter blow your own brains out, but the one place where you will not suck your last breath is underwater. Thank you, Jesus.”
What a voice! I'm in awe of authors — like Kingsolver, Ruth Ozeki, Ann-Marie MacDonald — who express the voice of their fictional characters so well that it's hard to believe those characters aren't real people.
Here's Demon talking about reading novels: “Likewise the Charles Dickens one, seriously old guy, dead and a foreigner, but Christ Jesus did he get the picture on kids and orphans getting screwed over and nobody giving a rat’s ass. You’d think he was from around here.”
Along with the wonderful characters, the great story (Dickens knew a thing or two about plot), and the brilliant use of language, I also appreciated learning along the way. I learned about Melungeons, the origins of the term “redneck” (it’s badass, by the way), the whisky rebellion, Purdue Pharma, mining companies, dopesickness... But never does anything feel like a lecture. Kingsolver is too good a novelist for that.
I do hope you'll read this wonderful novel.
After I finished the book this morning, I went down the internet rabbit hole of learning a little more about Appalachia. I'll leave you with a few of the interesting things I found:
The 100-year capitalist experiment that keeps Appalachia poor, sick, and stuck on coal: https://tinyurl.com/v2axr7yj
Rising Appalachia music video: https://tinyurl.com/y3majtyx
Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Kickback Conspiracies: https://tinyurl.com/rhnfuykd
syellico's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t say much that hasn’t already been said about this book in all the other 5-star reviews. Yes, it is sad and a lot of bad things happen. But, Demon’s voice is so very authentic and drew me in from the first sentence. I loved this book and I loved Demon and the cast of characters that help him along the way. His life is not easy, but this also real life, not a caricature. For people who might think this is depressing or that the author just made every bad thing she could think of happen, it might be time to stop for a moment and check your privilege.
One of my top books of the year!
One of my top books of the year!
hlhindin's review
5.0
This was my 133rd book of 2022. I have read a number of exceptional books this head but this was by far the best. It was heartbreaking and hopeful. Kingsolver covered a lot of important issues in the book from poverty to addiction (and the opioid epidemic), with a sure hand and a steady voice. You will love Demon Copperhead and find yourself cheering him on as he works to overcome mountainous obstacles - literally and figuratively.