Author(s): Barbara Kingsolver

Adult Fiction | Women's Prize 2023 Shortlist | Staff Favourites | Top 50 bestsellers of 2023

From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero's unforgettable journey to maturity. Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-coloured hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labour, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.

STAFF REVIEW by Lucinda

A vivid reimagining of David Copperfield. Growing up in modern day rural America, Demon is orphaned and struggles through the foster care system. The small amount of happiness he finds evaporates when he is prescribed opioids after a football injury. I loved this book for its unflinching portrayal of opioid addiction and Kingsolver’s beautiful descriptions of Appalachia. A retelling of such a well-known classic is risky, but I believe she has executed it perfectly. If you have an interest in the opioid epidemic or the plight of the underprivileged in America you will find this book to be a valuable read.