Barbara KingsolverFiction · Literary Fiction·b. 1955
Demon Copperhead
Synopsis
Born in the Appalachian mountains with little more than his father's looks and a sharp wit, Demon Copperhead navigates the harsh realities of a system that fails its children. From foster care to addiction, he recounts his life in an unsparing voice, facing the struggles of poverty and the feeling of being forgotten. This novel reimagines Dickens' David Copperfield for a new generation, offering a powerful story of resilience in a place many can't leave.
How it reads
- Writing4.0
- Impact5.0
- Characters5.0
- Plot2.0
- Atmosphere3.0
Prose complexity 7/10
Content warnings (4)
Substance AbuseTraumaDeath Of A ParentAbuse
Readers say (1)Slow · Dense · Emotional · Gritty · Thought-Provoking
Readers flagged (5)
Substance AbuseTraumaDeath Of A ParentAbusePregnancy Loss
- I didn't expect to like this book this much, because I basically bought it because I thought the cover was pretty... What can I say about this book apart from it being captivating? The life of Demon Copperhead is complicated since day one, then it goes to straight out heartbreaking. Any kind of possible misery that one can go through in life? Demon has been there, done that. Was he brave and did he outcome everything? Let's just say he was deeply human and very flawed, and life kept ''lifeing''. The characters around Demon are each their own story and world, I mean Barbara Kingsolver storytelling is so mesmerizing, even the least important character becomes important through Demon's eyes. The background is Lee County, Virginia, which is the rednecks land and a bit a of a whole world on its own, rural, poor and forgotten. It's the America that is rarely represented in a positive light, they're the butt of all jokes, the hillbillies, the dumbfuvks, the scum of the land of the free. The writer makes the reader see that there's much deeper than that, they are doomed from the beginning because society is intent on sticking with that image of them. She doesn't go in sugarcoating their image, they are who they are because society ruled that that's what they will always be. This is a book that defies the clichés, by showing those clichés, explaining their causes, diving deeper in the societal disparities and discrimination.
- A very interesting and heavy book. Barbara is a phenomenal writer. Very important updating of David Copperfield