Demon Copperhead: Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction Paperback – 4 May 2023

A reimagining of Dickens' David Copperfield, this is the story of Damon Fields, aka, Demon Copperhead, a young boy growing up in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, and charting his journey into adulthood. Born to a teen-aged single mother battling a drug habit, Demon is orphaned at a young age, forced to face the hardships of a broken foster care system. Later, he finally finds a home with Coach Winfield and his daughter Angus, briefly enjoying stardom on the football pitch, only to suffer a devastating injury. From there, Demon finds himself on a downward spiral, battling addiction issues himself, however, through all the adversities, Demon never loses the fighting spirit and resilience he was born with.My first read from Barbara Kingsolver, and easily my favourite read of the year so far, though not always an easy read, given the oftentimes depressing subject matter. Yet, no matter how bleak and harrowing the story got, ultimately the message was one of triumph and hope, and I think that always shone through.Demon, as the central character, is a joy. I simply loved his voice, and thought Kingsolver did a remarkable job of so wonderfully capturing the inner thoughts and feelings of a young boy/teenager. He narrates his story with a darkly sardonic sense of humour, that also helps keep the tone of the story entertaining no matter what he is enduring. Demon has a zest for life that simply cannot be stamped out, even at his lowest ebb, and whilst at times the choices he makes are questionable, I was rooting for him all the way. His heart was always in the right place, such that it was impossible not to like him.I've never actually read David Copperfield, but am familiar with the story though various television and movie adaptations over the years. I don't think you necessarily have to be familiar with the story, in order to enjoy this, but if you are, then I think you'll likely appreciate all the nods, and how cleverly Kingsolver takes Dickens' story and characters and translates them in this modern day setting. I did also find it rather thought-provoking, how so many of the social issues that Dickens was writing about, such as poverty, child labour and the bleak life of an orphan, are still so relevant today. Here, the orphanages are replaced instead by a broken foster care system that is no less harrowing.Another important issue covered in the story is drug abuse, Kingsolver going into a fair amount of detail on the heroin epidemic that affected these parts and destroyed so many lives and communities, and the role the pharmaceutical industry played in this. Kinsgsolver's love for her native Appalachia was clear to see and infused throughout the story, be it in Demon's love for the nature around him, or in the interesting history of the area that she weaves into the story. Its there in the commentary on how rural folk are so often misrepresented, and in Demon's comic strips and later graphic novel that try to hit back and give his people a voice. Yes, perhaps at times her social commentary could seem a little forced, however, I appreciated the passion behind it nevertheless.The novel is certainly lengthy, however, I never found myself losing attention. Whilst Demon owned my heart from very early on, there were a whole host of characters here to love, and some to love to hate. Some of my favorites included Angus, Tommy, and Aunt June, though the Peggotts as a whole family were a lovable bunch.Overall, this was a masterful reworking of a classic, and yet also entirely Kingsolver's own. A story that is as likely to have you laughing as it is crying; I found this an incredibly raw and moving read, with a big-hearted hero who will stay with me for a long time.

Barbara Kingsolver is a fine, insightful author. It is no surprise that she is the recipient of many literary awards. I had only previously read "The poison wood bible" but read this book on the advice of a trusted friend. I was not disappointed. The novel tells the life story of an orphan who survives an existence in several dreadful foster homes to finally be taken in by a football coach. It turns out that Demon has the potential to be a fine player but a football injury ruins his knee and ends his nascent career. He then falls victim to unscrupulous doctors who freely prescribe addictive narcotics. His life is then on a downward spiral. After reaching rock bottom he enters a withdrawal programme and enjoys commercial success as a cartoonist and author. The ending teases the reader with a possible love match. The book, allegedly inspired by Dickens' David Copperfield, deals in detail with rural, deprived America and its battle with opiate addiction. There are scenes of happiness, horror, adventure and what it is like to be drug dependent and dirt poor. Well worth reading.

I’ve had this book on my Kindle for a while and I needed something gripping and educational after reading a not-great trashy book, as I wanted to build back some of my literacy brain cells. I think I’ve never read any Barbara Kingsolver books but I might have read ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ many years ago, either way, I was looking forward to reading the highly rated ‘Demon Copperhead’.The main character is Damon Fields, aka, Demon Copperhead, a young boy growing up in the mountains of Southern Appalachia. Demon was born to a teenage single mother battling a drug habit and is orphaned at a young age and then forced to face the hardships of a broken foster care system. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that we follow Demon through this system to where he finally finds a home with Coach Winfield and his daughter Angus and we see how this home and new friendship group changes him.This book covers so many topics - systemic and generational issues of poverty, child neglect, foster care, and addiction - in both a compassionate and unflinching way. I found the characters vivid, complex and highly believable. Throughout the book and tragic realities, there is a hope and sense of humour which I found refreshing. My only slight niggle about this book is that it was a bit predictable, I just knew where things were going to go and the story arcs of the characters but even so, I was drawn into Demon’s world and really wanted him to succeed.I will read more by Barbara Kingsolver in the future.