Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

 Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver is a powerful 560-page epic tale inspired by Charles Dicken’s own David Copperfield, both stories of boys from childhood to maturity. Kingsolver not only plunks her protagonist down in Appalachia, but she also gives voice to the people who live here who realize that they are constantly overlooked, thought less of than others, and basically disregarded by America. In this important book coming out in October, Kingsolver even takes aim at the atrocities of Big Pharma that blanketed Appalachia with opioids and pill mills, with lingering effects to this very day.

The story starts in a trailer in Lee County in Southwest Virginia, where Damon Fields was born to a teenage unwed mother who drinks Seagram’s followed by Vicodin to dull her labor pains. His father “Copperhead” Woodall had died in an accident at the Devil’s Bathtub, a family story that causes the young boy to fear bathtubs, opting for showers only.

Eventually dubbed with the nickname “Demon Copperhead,” he narrates the story of his life through the dangers of an addicted mother, an abusive stepfather, foster care, child labor, his own addiction, and a disastrous love affair with an addict. Along his journey, he makes good friends with the people next door, the Peggots, whose grandson “Maggot” becomes Demon’s best friend; a married couple, Annie and Mr. Armstrong, both teachers, who recognize Demon’s artistic gifts, and Angus, the daughter of a football coach who sees potential in Demon. These characters form  his true family, providing him safety nets from time to time as he maneuvers through so many damaging situations a child, later a young man, should not have to encounter.

Skillfully, Kingsolver develops parallel plots to David Copperfield, and she borrows or alters names from the Dicken’s novel for her own cast of characters. Demon could be overlooked as just another kid on drugs going nowhere in Appalachia, but he exhibits such a compelling honesty and forthrightness along with a sense of humor that he will not soon be forgotten.

Demon Copperhead is Barbara Kingsolver’s masterpiece, adding another title to her Appalachian Literature books along with Prodigal Summer and Flight Behavior. She writes essays and poetry as well as novels. Raised in rural Kentucky on the border between the Bluegrass and the Appalachian Mountains, she earned  degrees in biology, ecology, and evolutional biology from DePauw University and the University of Arizona. She writes about social justice, biodiversity, and the interaction between humans and their communities and environments. Recognition for her work includes nominations for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize (The Poisonwood Bible). She lives on a farm in Washington County, Virginia.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 22, 2022.

I would like to thank HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.