Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

February 1, 2023 (by Leah)

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“The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between.”

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I dare you not to fall in love with Damon Copperhead, who is born in Southern Appalachia in a single wide trailer to a teenaged, single mom and who has nothing to his name except the good looks of his dead father, a determination to survive, a talent for drawing and a dream to one day see the ocean. The story takes him into early adulthood with so many tender moments, bad breaks and kicks to the gut along the way, you wonder how he (or you as the reader) will make it to the end. There are a lot of dark subjects - the failings of foster care, addiction, discrimination - which would normally make this a hard book for me to read, but the writing is beautiful and Kingsolver throws in just enough moments of hope and humanity that you can’t look away. If you enjoy character driven books, you will appreciate the entire cast of wonderful supporting characters… some you will andore and some you will despise, but you will remember them all.

I loved this reimagining of the Victorian saga, David Copperfield, so much I think I may have to revisit the original Dickens classic.

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