A review by carriepond
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In Demon Copperhead, an epic reimagining of Charles Dickens's David Copperfield, Barbara Kingsolver creates an endearing and loveable hero, the kind you can't stop rooting for, even in the face of impossible odds (often self-imposed). The novel opens with Demon, nee Damon Fields, looking back on his childhood, from the very beginning: "First, I got myself born." Demon's mom is a "foster-care orphan dropout" who's been in and out of rehab since having him when she was eighteen and his dad died before he was born after drowning at the local swimming hole, "The Devil's Bathtub." Demon, so nicknamed because of his "copper-wire hair and some version of attitude," seems destined to follow in his mom's footsteps when she dies of an overdose on Demon's eleventh birthday. From there, Demon is passed around by an indifferent and inept foster care system, reconnects with distant family, becomes a popular member of his high school's football team, and struggles with addiction after a knee injury leaves him dependent on the pills prescribed to help him. Throughout the novel, we meet a wide cast of characters who love or hurt (and sometimes, both) our plucky hero, who is reflective and emotional but rarely self-pitying, despite the many reasons he'd have to be.

Don't let the "Dickens retelling" scare you off if you haven't read David Copperfield or worry the book will be highfalutin-- I enjoyed the book immensely despite not reading its inspiration, and although brilliantly written, the novel is relatable and readable. This is in no small part to the truly compelling main character Kingsolver creates in Demon. Kingsolver's fierce love of Appalachia and its people shines throughout the novel, and she pours that love into her main character. Because we watch Demon from the moment he "got born," we grow to love him and understand him even when he makes awful, self-destroying choices. The love that Kingsolver makes us feel for Demon also serves as the perfect foil to the novel's angry and visceral critique of the myriad ways capitalism exploits and throws away rural people and how the systems that should offer them support and help fail time and again. Demon reels us back in with his charm and keen observations any time the social commentary starts to feel heavy-handed,  which gives the novel's larger themes the room they need to root themselves into the reader's heart.

However, the parts of the book that really resonated with me were those that explore Demon's relationships-- with his fellow foster boy turned dear friend and co-creator, with his stand-in family the Peggots (especially Mrs. Peggot and June), his "sister" turned confidante Angus, and ultimately, with his home: "It's hard to explain how you can miss a place and want it with all your heart, and be utterly sure it will obliterate you the instant you touch down." 

I loved this novel, and I loved Demon. Highly recommend this heart-wrenching but beautiful and nuanced portrait of rural America, the opioid epidemic, and "the kids who wake up hungry and in those dark places every day." 
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